Qatar Short Race and Grand Prix Grid Setting: Real-Time Updates
Preamble
Philip will be here shortly to guide you through today's short race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
Real-Time Updates
Warm-Up Lap Time
The starting lap has started.
Circuit Details
There are nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in Formula 1, David Croft informs us.
Countdown
The last moments has begun.
Racer Positions
One point in Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to challenge the team's main man.
Media Conversations
Sky interviewing Sky now: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, interviewing the engineer about his promotion to Aston Martin team principal.
Grid Details
Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the main race, he failed to make it out of Q1 again on Friday. Ferrari have consequently adjusted to his car configuration and so he will start from the pit lane.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the learning for tomorrow," states Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect plenty of learning.
Team Standings
It's not all about the drivers' title: The team have run away with the team championship but the team, with a forty-point advantage over their rivals, will be hoping to seal second place during this event. George Russell can help them achieve that from the front row, and Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen.
Past Performance
Piastri won that day – as he did last year, as well. The driver from McLaren is attempting a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Right, just over twenty minutes remaining till the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, its main importance is as an indication of what is to come, rather than significant in its itself, with just eight championship points available to the winner. Mind you, the runner-up spot in this race was enough for the driver to become champion in a prior season.
The driver wins the championship following his teammate's accident of the short race.
