Though it started with misery — he went too deep into one corner in the wet conditions during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and slid onto the grass at the next turn, blowing his shot at a home podium — Piastri rebounded, entering a dominant era of his own.

Piastri broke his own lap record in Qatar with a blistering final session in qualifying, clocking a staggering 1:19.387s to lay down the gauntlet to his competitors. McLaren teammate and championship leader Lando Norris will start the main race from second, with reigning world champion Max Verstappen qualifying third fastest in his Red Bull.

Wednesday’s fast-paced F1 news includes a new worry for Oscar Piastri after McLaren’s double disqualification in Las Vegas as Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington slams a “complete BS” Mercedes penalty. With Ross Brawn weighing in on Lewis Hamilton’s woes at Ferrari, and Sebastian Vettel offering a clue to his next plans, here’s today’s roundup…

Every F1 car has a wood-composite plank (aka, skid block) on the bottom. It’s there to prevent teams from running the car too low to the ground, which would give them an aerodynamic advantage. The rules say you can’t wear it down by more than 1 millimeter during a race.

Liam Lawson has issued an apology to Oscar Piastri for his role in the pair’s collision during the opening of Formula 1 ‘s Las Vegas Grand Prix. The incident occurred when the Kiwi got ahead of the Australian’s McLaren at Turn 1 at lights out in the Nevada night race, taking fifth place.