Qatar's Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Live Coverage
Opening Notes
The author is arriving soon to cover today's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
Live Feed
Formation Lap Time
The warm-up lap has started.
Track Information
There are 19 laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, the commentator points out.
Countdown
The final countdown is on.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Max Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Yuki Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with Red Bull's lead driver.
Media Conversations
Sky's internal discussion now: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to the team team principal.
Grid Details
Just 16 cars on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming 20th and last in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the main race, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 again on the previous day. Ferrari have consequently made changes to his setup and so he begins from the starting area.
Aston Martin's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We take the learning for tomorrow," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be plenty of learning.
Team Standings
It's not all about the individual championship: McLaren have dominated the team championship but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, will be hoping to seal second place this weekend. George Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader.
Past Performance
Piastri was victorious then – as he did last year, as well. The driver from McLaren is attempting a third consecutive win.
Short Race Importance
Right, approximately 20 minutes to go until the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as a preview of what is to come, instead of highly important in its own right, with only eight points available to the winner. However, the runner-up spot in this race was enough for the driver to claim the title in a prior season.
The driver wins the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
