Russell: We're not getting carried away

The 2021 Formula 1 Constructors' Champions have has a troubled start this year, with a badly bouncing W13, but they announced that from Miami onwards, they planned to get updates and experiment with their car to assess the way forward.

So they did, as they brought a revised front and rear wing, and the W13 seemed to be a happier beast all Friday long as Russell finished FP1 and FP2 second and first respectively. Hamilton on the other hand finished FP1 eighth fastest but was fourth after FP2.

Reflecting on first day of running around Miami, Russell said in the team's post session press release: "We always knew that the warm conditions here in Miami would suit our car better - we've suffered with getting temperature in the tyres at previous races so that's a big factor here.

"The car is running well but it's only Friday, we're not getting carried away," he warned. "It's probably been the most productive Friday we've had this season in terms of learning.

"We know that the porpoising will always be there but maybe it's working at a lower range compared to where we were previously," said the former Williams driver of his more tamed Silver Arrow.

"You generally have races that go in your favour and some that go against you - Imola obviously wasn't a strong circuit for us but from what we've seen so far, the car seems to work well around Miami.

"It's a unique circuit, I was a bit unsure how I would take to the slow-speed tight section underneath the bridge, it's a bit of a head-banger through there, but for the rest, they've done an amazing job - undulating in sections, with high-speed corners, I think it's great for the fans," the 24-year-old explained.

The seven-time World Champion echoed his teammate sentiments, remaining grounded about Mercedes' Miami prospects, claiming the W13 feels similar, but looks to be faster.

"Today is just practice and everyone is doing something different, not showing their true pace, so we won't get carried away," Hamilton said in the team's media brief.

"The car feels similar to me but we seem to be quicker and we've obviously improved in places," he went on. "We still have the bouncing so we haven't cured it but bit by bit, we're improving the car.

"The race is going to be tough, particularly with the tyres overheating and it's very hot for the drivers, I've already lost a couple of kilos today. The heat reminds me a little bit of driving in Malaysia - Kuala Lumpar is still number one in terms of the heat, then Singapore, and now here in Miami.

"There are positive elements to take from today, George looked great out there and the team are trying a lot of different things with our cars, so we'll converge and hopefully take another step forward tomorrow," the Mercedes Ace concluded.

Mercedes' trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin summed up the team's Friday saying: "A busy but encouraging day, a few red flags interrupted our programme but we managed to get through most of the work.

"We had a few aerodynamic updates to try here which we are still assessing but overall, we look to have made some progress. In terms of set-up, we had some comparisons that we have been running throughout the day across the cars and initial results look interesting.

"We'll do a bit more analysis before deciding what we carry into tomorrow," Shovlin revealed. "There's plenty for us to improve with the car balance, tyre overheating is also quite an issue, and the sessions around the middle of the day are very hot so keeping the rear tyre temperatures under control is a challenge.

"Those will be our main areas of focus to try and improve. There will also be chunks to find working on single lap balance and also the ride, there are a couple of notable bumps here that unsettle the car, but overall it's a solid start, especially compared to our recent Fridays," the Mercedes engineer explained.