Qatar's Short Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Live Updates
Preamble
Our correspondent is arriving soon to take you through today's short race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
Real-Time Updates
Starting Lap Time
The warm-up lap has started.
Circuit Details
There are 19 laps of the longest circuit in F1, David Croft points out.
Countdown
The countdown has begun.
Racer Positions
An advantage in Max Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is in front of him by a single position. It's improbable to interfere with Red Bull's lead driver.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky now: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, speaking with the engineer about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role.
Starting Positions
Just 16 cars on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he failed to make it out of the first qualifying segment again on the previous day. The team have as a result made changes to his setup and so he begins from the pit lane.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine duo 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.
Constructors' Championship
It's not all about the individual championship: The team have run away with the constructors' gong but the team, with a 40-point lead over Red Bull, will be hoping to secure the runner-up position during this event. Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader.
Past Performance
Oscar Piastri won that day – as he did last year, too. McLaren's Australian is attempting a hat-trick.
Sprint Race Value
Alright, just over 20 minutes remaining till the sprint race begins. Barring disaster, its main importance is as a preview of what is to come, rather than significant in its own right, with just eight championship points awarded to the winner. However, second place in this race was sufficient for Verstappen to become champion in a prior season.
The driver claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of Qatar GP sprint race.
