Qatar Short Race and Grand Prix Grid Setting: Live Updates
Preamble
Our correspondent will be here shortly to guide you through today's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
Real-Time Updates
Warm-Up Lap Time
The formation lap is underway.
Circuit Details
We have nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula One, the commentator reminds us.
Countdown
The last moments has begun.
Racer Positions
An advantage in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to challenge the team's lead driver.
Media Conversations
Sky interviewing Sky currently: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing Adrian Newey about his promotion to Aston Martin team principal.
Starting Positions
There are only 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for the driver: following his result of twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he did not manage to make it out of the first qualifying segment again on Friday. The team have consequently made changes to his setup and so he begins from the pit lane.
The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the experience for the next day," says Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be plenty of learning.
Team Standings
It's not all about the individual championship: McLaren have run away with the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a 40-point lead over their rivals, are aiming to seal second place this weekend. George Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader.
Previous Results
Piastri was victorious then – as he managed the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Alright, just over twenty minutes to go until the sprint race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as a preview of future events, instead of highly important in its own right, with only eight points awarded to the winner. However, the runner-up spot in this race was enough for the driver to claim the title two years ago.
Max Verstappen claimed the championship after Pérez crashes out of the short race.
