Qatar's Short Race and Grand Prix Qualifying: Live Updates
Opening Notes
The author is arriving soon to guide you through today's short race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT).
Real-Time Updates
Warm-Up Lap Period
The warm-up lap has started.
Circuit Details
We have nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in Formula 1, the commentator points out.
Final Moments
The countdown has begun.
Racer Positions
One point in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with the team's main man.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky now: the analyst is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to the team lead role.
Starting Positions
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in the previous race, leading to an eighth position in the grand prix, he did not manage to make it out of the first qualifying segment once more on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his car configuration and so he begins from the starting area.
The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We take the experience for tomorrow," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be a lot of that.
Constructors' Championship
It's not all about the individual championship: The team have dominated 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 help them achieve that from the front row, and Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen.
Previous Results
Piastri was victorious then – as he did last year, as well. McLaren's Australian is going for a hat-trick.
Short Race Importance
Alright, approximately twenty minutes to go until the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as a preview of what is to come, rather than highly important in its own right, with only eight points awarded to the winner. However, the runner-up spot here was enough for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season.
The driver claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of Qatar GP sprint race.
