Qatar's Short Race and Grand Prix Grid Setting: Real-Time Coverage
Opening Notes
Our correspondent will be here shortly to guide you through today's short race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT).
Live Feed
Warm-Up Lap Time
The warm-up lap has begun.
Circuit Details
There are nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, David Croft reminds us.
Countdown
The countdown has begun.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Max Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. It's improbable to challenge the team's main man.
Media Conversations
Sky's internal discussion now: the analyst is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, speaking with Adrian Newey about his stepping up to the team team principal.
Starting Positions
Just 16 cars on the grid. This followed another poor grid-setting session for the driver: after coming twentieth and final in the previous race, resulting in an eighth position in the grand prix, he did not manage to make it out of the first qualifying segment again on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his setup and so he begins from the pit lane.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the learning for the next day," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be plenty of learning.
Constructors' Championship
The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: McLaren have run away with the constructors' gong but the team, with a 40-point lead over their rivals, will be hoping to seal second place this weekend. George Russell can assist in this goal from second place, and Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen.
Previous Results
Piastri won that day – as he managed last year, too. The driver from McLaren is going for a hat-trick.
Short Race Importance
Alright, just over twenty minutes remaining until the sprint race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as a preview of future events, instead of significant in its own right, with only eight points awarded to the winner. However, the runner-up spot here was sufficient for the driver to become champion in a prior season.
The driver claimed the championship following his teammate's accident of the short race.
