Qatar's Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Live Coverage
Preamble
Philip is arriving soon to guide you through today's short race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT).
Current Events
Formation Lap Period
The formation lap has started.
Circuit Details
There are 19 laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, David Croft points out.
Countdown
The final countdown has begun.
Racer Positions
One point in Max Verstappen's favour: his fellow driver Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to interfere with Red Bull's lead driver.
Media Conversations
Sky speaking with Sky currently: Gary Neville is at the Mercedes team.
The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing Adrian Newey about his promotion to Aston Martin team principal.
Grid Details
There are only 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in the previous race, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he failed to make it out of Q1 again on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result adjusted to his setup and so he begins from the starting area.
Aston Martin's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Gasly and Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Racer Statements
"We'll use the experience for tomorrow," says Isack Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be a lot of that.
Team Standings
It's not all about the individual championship: The team have run away with the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place this weekend. George Russell can assist in this goal from second place, and Antonelli will start just behind the leader.
Past Performance
Piastri won that day β as he did the previous season, too. The driver from McLaren is attempting a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Alright, approximately twenty minutes to go until the sprint race begins. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as a preview of future events, instead of highly important in its own right, with just eight championship points available to the winner. Mind you, the runner-up spot here was sufficient for the driver to become champion two years ago.
The driver wins the championship following PΓ©rez crashes out of Qatar GP sprint race.
