Qatar's Sprint Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Live Coverage
Preamble
Our correspondent will be here shortly to guide you through today's sprint race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT).
Current Events
Formation Lap Time
The formation lap is underway.
Track Information
There are nineteen laps of the longest circuit in F1, the commentator points out.
Final Moments
The final countdown is on.
Racer Positions
An advantage in Max Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Tsunoda is in front of him by a single position. He is unlikely to mess with the team's main man.
Media Conversations
Sky interviewing Sky now: Gary Neville is at the Mercedes team.
The analyst is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, speaking with the engineer about his promotion to the team lead role.
Starting Positions
Just 16 cars on the grid. It was another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: following his result of 20th and last in the previous race, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the main race, he failed to advance of the first qualifying segment once more on the previous day. The team have as a result made changes to his car configuration and so he begins from the pit lane.
Aston Martin's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Gasly and Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Racer Statements
"We take the experience for the next day," states Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be a lot of that.
Team Standings
It's not all about the drivers' title: McLaren have run away with the constructors' gong but the team, with a 40-point lead over their rivals, are aiming to seal second place during this event. Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen.
Past Performance
Piastri won that day – as he managed the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is attempting a hat-trick.
Short Race Importance
Alright, approximately twenty minutes to go till the sprint race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as a preview of what is to come, rather than highly important in its own right, with only eight points awarded to the victor. However, the runner-up spot in this race was sufficient for the driver to become champion in a prior season.
The driver wins the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
