Qatar's Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Real-Time Updates
Opening Notes
Our correspondent is arriving soon to guide you through this day's sprint race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (6pm).
Current Events
Starting Lap Time
The formation lap has begun.
Circuit Details
There are nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, the commentator points out.
Countdown
The countdown is underway.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to challenge the team's main man.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky now: the analyst is at the Mercedes team.
Karun Chandhok is looking forward to 2026, interviewing the engineer about his promotion to Aston Martin team principal.
Grid Details
Just 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the main race, he did not manage to make it out of the first qualifying segment once more on the previous day. The team have as a result adjusted to his car configuration and so he begins from the starting area.
Aston Martin's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We take the experience for the next day," says Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be plenty of learning.
Constructors' Championship
It's not all about the individual championship: The team have run away with the team championship but the team, with a 40-point lead over their rivals, are aiming to seal second place this weekend. George Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen.
Previous Results
Piastri was victorious then – as he did last year, too. McLaren's Australian is attempting a hat-trick.
Sprint Race Value
Alright, just over twenty minutes remaining until the short race begins. Barring disaster, its main importance is as a preview of future events, rather than highly important in its own right, with only eight points available to the winner. However, second place in this race was enough for Verstappen to claim the title two years ago.
The driver wins the championship following his teammate's accident of the short race.
