Qatar Sprint Race and Grand Prix Grid Setting: Live Coverage
Preamble
Our correspondent will be here shortly to cover today's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (6pm).
Current Events
Formation Lap Time
The warm-up lap has begun.
Track Information
We have nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula One, the commentator informs us.
Countdown
The countdown has begun.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Verstappen's favour: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with Red Bull's lead driver.
Interview Updates
Sky interviewing Sky currently: the analyst is with Mercedes.
The analyst is looking forward to 2026, speaking with Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin team principal.
Starting Positions
Just 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for the driver: following his result of twentieth and final in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he failed to make it out of Q1 once more on Friday. The team have as a result adjusted to his setup and so he begins from the pit lane.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine duo of Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the experience for the next day," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be a lot of that.
Constructors' Championship
It's not all about the drivers' title: The team have dominated the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over their rivals, are aiming to secure the runner-up position during this event. Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen.
Previous Results
Piastri was victorious then – as he managed the previous season, too. The driver from McLaren is going for a third consecutive win.
Short Race Importance
Right, just over twenty minutes remaining until the sprint race begins. Barring disaster, its main importance is as a preview of what is to come, instead of highly important in its own right, with just eight championship points available to the winner. However, the runner-up spot in this race was sufficient for Verstappen to become champion two years ago.
Max Verstappen claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
