Qatar Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Real-Time Updates
Opening Notes
Philip will be here shortly to guide you through today's short race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (6pm).
Live Feed
Starting Lap Time
The formation lap is underway.
Track Information
There are nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, David Croft reminds us.
Countdown
The last moments has begun.
Racer Positions
An advantage in Max Verstappen's favour: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. He is unlikely to mess with the team's main man.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky now: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
The analyst is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, speaking with the engineer about his promotion to Aston Martin team principal.
Starting Positions
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming 20th and last in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the main race, he did not manage to advance of Q1 once more on Friday. Ferrari have consequently adjusted to his setup and so he will start from the starting area.
Aston Martin's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We take the experience for tomorrow," states Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect a lot of that.
Team Standings
It's not all about the individual championship: The team have dominated the team championship but Mercedes, with a 40-point lead over their rivals, will be hoping to seal second place during this event. George Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader.
Past Performance
Piastri won that day – as he did last year, too. McLaren's Australian is attempting a third consecutive win.
Short Race Importance
Alright, approximately 20 minutes to go until the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as an indication of future events, rather than highly important in its own right, with just eight championship points available to the winner. Mind you, the runner-up spot in this race was enough for the driver to become champion two years ago.
Max Verstappen claimed F1 world title after his teammate's accident of Qatar GP sprint race.
