Qatar's Sprint Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Real-Time Updates
Opening Notes
The author is about to begin to take you through this day's short race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
Live Feed
Starting Lap Period
The formation lap has begun.
Track Information
We have nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in Formula 1, the commentator informs us.
Final Moments
The countdown has begun.
Racer Positions
One point in Verstappen's favour: his fellow driver Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. It's improbable to challenge the team's lead driver.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky currently: Gary Neville is at the Mercedes team.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin team principal.
Starting Positions
Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for the driver: following his result of twentieth and final in the previous race, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the main race, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 again on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his setup and so he begins from the starting area.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Racer Statements
"We take the learning for the next day," states Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be plenty of learning.
Team Standings
It's not all about the individual championship: The team have dominated the team championship but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, will be hoping to secure the runner-up position this weekend. Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen.
Past Performance
Oscar Piastri won that day – as he managed the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Alright, approximately twenty minutes remaining till the short race begins. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as a preview of future events, rather than significant in its own right, with just eight championship points available to the victor. However, the runner-up spot here was sufficient for the driver to become champion two years ago.
The driver claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
