Qatar's Short Race and Grand Prix Grid Setting: Real-Time Updates
Opening Notes
The author is about to begin to guide you through this day's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
Current Events
Starting Lap Period
The starting lap is underway.
Track Information
There are 19 laps of the longest circuit in F1, David Croft reminds us.
Countdown
The countdown has begun.
Racer Positions
An advantage in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. He is unlikely to mess with the team's lead driver.
Interview Updates
Sky interviewing Sky currently: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, speaking with the engineer about his promotion to the team team principal.
Grid Details
Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: after coming 20th and last in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the main race, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 again on the previous day. The team have consequently made changes to his car configuration and so he will start from the starting area.
Aston Martin's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Racer Statements
"We take the learning for tomorrow," states Isack Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be a lot of that.
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, are aiming to secure the runner-up position this weekend. Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen.
Past Performance
Piastri won that day – as he did the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is attempting a third consecutive win.
Short Race Importance
Right, approximately twenty minutes remaining until the sprint race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as an indication of what is to come, rather than highly important in its itself, with only eight points available to the winner. However, second place in this race was sufficient for the driver to become champion two years ago.
The driver wins the championship following Pérez crashes out of the short race.
