Qatar's Sprint Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Live Coverage
Introduction
Our correspondent is about to begin to cover today's short race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT).
Live Feed
Starting Lap Time
The warm-up lap has started.
Circuit Details
There are nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, David Croft reminds us.
Countdown
The last moments has begun.
Racer Positions
An advantage in Max Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. He is unlikely to mess with the team's main man.
Media Conversations
Sky interviewing Sky currently: the analyst is at the Mercedes team.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, interviewing Adrian Newey about his promotion to Aston Martin lead role.
Grid Details
Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for the driver: following his result of twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth position in the main race, he failed to make it out of Q1 again on Friday. Ferrari have consequently made changes to his setup and so he begins from the starting area.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the learning for tomorrow," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be a lot of that.
Constructors' Championship
The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: The team have dominated the team championship but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place this weekend. George Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader.
Previous Results
Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he did the previous season, too. The driver from McLaren is attempting a hat-trick.
Short Race Importance
Right, approximately twenty minutes remaining until the short race gets under way. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as a preview of what is to come, rather than 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 Verstappen to claim the title two years ago.
Max Verstappen wins the championship after Pérez crashes out of the short race.
