Qatar Sprint Race and Main Event Qualifying: Live Updates
Opening Notes
Philip will be here shortly to cover today's sprint race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
Current Events
Starting Lap Period
The warm-up lap has started.
Circuit Details
There are nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, David Croft points out.
Countdown
The last moments is underway.
Racer Positions
One point in Verstappen's favour: his teammate Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with Red Bull's lead driver.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky now: the analyst is with Mercedes.
The analyst is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to Aston Martin team principal.
Grid Details
Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: following his result of 20th and last in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth position in the grand prix, he failed 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.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the experience for the next day," says Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect plenty of learning.
Team Standings
It's not all about the drivers' title: The team have run away with the team championship but Mercedes, with a 40-point lead over their rivals, will be hoping to seal second place this weekend. Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader.
Previous Results
Piastri was victorious then – as he did the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a hat-trick.
Short Race Importance
Alright, approximately 20 minutes remaining until the sprint race begins. Barring disaster, its main importance is as a preview of what is to come, instead of highly important in its own right, with only eight points awarded to the victor. Mind you, second place here was enough for the driver to become champion two years ago.
The driver claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
