Qatar Short Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Live Updates
Preamble
Our correspondent will be here shortly to guide you through this day's short race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
Live Feed
Warm-Up Lap Time
The starting lap has begun.
Circuit Details
We have nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, David Croft points out.
Final Moments
The countdown has begun.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. It's improbable to interfere with the team's lead driver.
Media Conversations
Sky speaking with Sky currently: the analyst is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is looking forward to the 2026 season, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to the team lead role.
Grid Details
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 again on Friday. The team have consequently made changes to his car configuration and so he begins from the pit lane.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Racer Statements
"We'll use the learning for the next day," says Isack Hadjar, starting eleventh. Expect a lot of that.
Constructors' Championship
The focus isn't solely on the drivers' title: The team have dominated the team championship but the team, with a forty-point advantage over their rivals, are aiming to seal second place during this event. Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader.
Past Performance
Oscar Piastri won that day – as he managed the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a hat-trick.
Sprint Race Value
Alright, approximately twenty minutes to go till the short race gets under way. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as a preview of future events, rather than significant in its own right, with only eight points awarded to the victor. Mind you, the runner-up spot in this race was enough for the driver to become champion two years ago.
The driver wins F1 world title following Pérez crashes out of Qatar GP sprint race.
