Qatar's Short Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Live Updates
Opening Notes
The author is about to begin to take you through this day's short race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
Live Feed
Warm-Up Lap Period
The starting lap has begun.
Circuit Details
We have nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, the commentator informs us.
Countdown
The countdown is on.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. It's improbable to challenge the team's lead driver.
Interview Updates
Sky interviewing Sky now: the analyst is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role.
Grid Details
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming twentieth and final in the previous race, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he did not manage to make it out of the first qualifying segment again on Friday. 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 doing likewise.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the experience for tomorrow," states Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect 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 forty-point advantage over Red Bull, will be hoping to seal second place during this event. Russell can help them achieve that from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader.
Previous Results
Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he managed the previous season, as well. McLaren's Australian is attempting a third consecutive win.
Short Race Importance
Right, approximately twenty minutes remaining till the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, its main importance is as an indication of what is to come, rather than significant in its itself, with just eight championship points awarded to the winner. However, the runner-up spot in this race was sufficient for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season.
The driver claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
