Qatar Sprint Race and Main Event Qualifying: Real-Time Updates
Introduction
Our correspondent will be here shortly to guide you through this day's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (6pm).
Live Feed
Formation Lap Time
The warm-up lap is underway.
Circuit Details
There are nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, David Croft points out.
Final Moments
The final countdown is underway.
Racer Positions
One point in Max Verstappen's favour: his teammate Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with the team's lead driver.
Media Conversations
Sky's internal discussion now: the analyst is at the Mercedes team.
The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing Adrian Newey about his promotion to Aston Martin lead role.
Starting Positions
Just 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming twentieth and final in the previous race, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 again on the previous day. Ferrari have consequently adjusted to his setup and so he will start from the starting area.
Aston Martin's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Racer Statements
"We'll use the experience for the next day," says Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be plenty of learning.
Constructors' Championship
It's not all about the drivers' title: McLaren have run away with the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place during this event. George Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen.
Previous Results
Piastri was victorious then – as he did the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is attempting a hat-trick.
Short Race Importance
Alright, approximately twenty minutes to go until the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, its main importance is as an indication of what is to come, instead of highly important in its own right, with just eight championship points awarded to the winner. However, second place here was sufficient for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season.
Max Verstappen claimed F1 world title after Pérez crashes out of the short race.
