Qatar Short Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Live Coverage
Preamble
The author is about to begin to cover today's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
Real-Time Updates
Warm-Up Lap Period
The warm-up lap has started.
Circuit Details
We have 19 laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, David Croft informs us.
Final Moments
The countdown has begun.
Racer Positions
One point in Max Verstappen's favour: his fellow driver Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. It's improbable to challenge the team's lead driver.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky now: the analyst is at the Mercedes team.
The analyst is looking forward to the 2026 season, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to the team team principal.
Grid Details
Just 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming 20th and last in the previous race, leading to an eighth position in the grand prix, he failed to make it out of the first qualifying segment once more on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result adjusted to his setup and so he begins from the starting area.
The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Racer Statements
"We'll use the learning for the next day," states Hadjar, starting eleventh. Expect plenty of learning.
Constructors' Championship
The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: The team have dominated the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to secure the runner-up position this weekend. Russell can help them achieve that from the front row, and Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen.
Previous Results
Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he managed last year, too. The driver from McLaren is going for a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Right, approximately twenty minutes remaining till the short race begins. Barring disaster, its main importance is as a preview of future events, instead of significant in its own right, with only eight points available to the victor. However, second place in this race was enough for the driver to become champion in a prior season.
The driver claimed the championship after Pérez crashes out of the short race.
