Qatar Short Race and Grand Prix Qualifying: Live Updates
Introduction
Philip is about to begin to take you through today's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
Real-Time Updates
Starting Lap Time
The warm-up lap has started.
Circuit Details
We have nineteen laps of the longest circuit in F1, David Croft points out.
Countdown
The last moments is underway.
Racer Positions
An advantage in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with Red Bull's main man.
Media Conversations
Sky speaking with Sky now: the analyst is at the Mercedes team.
The analyst is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, interviewing Adrian Newey about his promotion to the team lead role.
Grid Details
There are only 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he did not manage to advance of the first qualifying segment again on the previous day. The team have consequently made changes to his setup and so he will start from the pit lane.
Aston Martin's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Driver Comments
"We take the learning for the next day," says Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect a lot of that.
Constructors' Championship
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 during this event. George Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader.
Past Performance
Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he did last year, too. The driver from McLaren is going for a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Right, approximately 20 minutes remaining till the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, its main importance is as a preview of future events, rather than significant in its itself, with only eight points awarded to the victor. However, the runner-up spot in this race was sufficient for Verstappen to become champion two years ago.
The driver claimed F1 world title after his teammate's accident of the short race.
