Qatar's Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Live Updates
Opening Notes
Philip will be here shortly to take you through today's short race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT).
Current Events
Starting Lap Time
The warm-up lap is underway.
Circuit Details
There are nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in F1, David Croft points out.
Final Moments
The final countdown has begun.
Racer Positions
An advantage in Verstappen's favour: his teammate Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. It's improbable to interfere with the team's main man.
Media Conversations
Sky interviewing Sky now: the analyst is with Mercedes.
The analyst is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, speaking with Adrian Newey about his promotion to the team lead role.
Grid Details
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming 20th and last in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the main race, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 again on Friday. Ferrari have consequently made changes to his car configuration and so he begins from the pit lane.
The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Racer Statements
"We take the learning for tomorrow," says Isack Hadjar, starting eleventh. Expect 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 forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place this weekend. Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader.
Previous Results
Oscar Piastri won that day – as he managed last year, too. McLaren's Australian is attempting a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Right, approximately twenty minutes remaining until the short race begins. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as a preview of what is to come, instead of significant in its itself, with only eight points available to the winner. Mind you, the runner-up spot here was enough for the driver to claim the title in a prior season.
The driver wins the championship after his teammate's accident of Qatar GP sprint race.
