After the asphalt started to break up during the inaugural running of the race last season, F1 organisers tasked Hard Rock Stadium and grand prix managing director Tom Garfinkel with relaying the circuit.
The renowned Tilke company was called to lay the fresh asphalt.
That new surface helped Max Verstappen top FP2 on Friday morning with a lap record. His 1m27.930s effort beat his 2022 pole time by 1.134s, although car development has also contributed to the gain.
Despite the improvement in performance, drivers complained about a lack of grip throughout Friday practice. Perez, who ran to fourth in the second session, likened it to running on intermediate tyres.
The Azerbaijan GP winner said: “The conditions out there are very low grip, especially in FP1.
“It felt like inter conditions pretty much. We were measuring wet conditions to inter conditions.
“I think the conditions [are why he is struggling]. Getting a read on these low-grip conditions, especially with the things that we've tried on FP1.”
Source: Autosport