Qatar's Short Race and Grand Prix Qualifying: Real-Time Coverage
Preamble
Philip is about to begin to cover this day's short race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
Current Events
Starting Lap Period
The warm-up lap has begun.
Circuit Details
We have nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, David Croft informs us.
Countdown
The last moments has begun.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Max Verstappen's favour: his teammate Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with the team's lead driver.
Media Conversations
Sky speaking with Sky currently: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to the team lead role.
Starting Positions
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: following his result of twentieth and final in the previous race, resulting in an eighth position in the main race, he failed to advance of Q1 again on Friday. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his car configuration and so he will start from the pit lane.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine duo of Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Racer Statements
"We'll use the learning for tomorrow," states Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be plenty of learning.
Team Standings
The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: McLaren have run away with the team championship but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place during this event. Russell can assist in this goal from second place, and Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen.
Past Performance
Piastri won that day – as he did last year, too. The driver from McLaren is attempting a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Alright, approximately 20 minutes to go until the sprint race begins. 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 just eight championship points awarded to the victor. Mind you, the runner-up spot in this race was sufficient for Verstappen to become champion two years ago.
The driver claimed F1 world title after Pérez crashes out of Qatar GP sprint race.
