Qatar Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Live Coverage
Preamble
Our correspondent is arriving soon to take you through today's sprint race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
Live Feed
Warm-Up Lap Time
The warm-up lap has begun.
Track Information
There are nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, David Croft informs us.
Final Moments
The final countdown is underway.
Driver Situation
One point in Max Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. He is unlikely to interfere with the team's lead driver.
Media Conversations
Sky speaking with Sky currently: the analyst is at the Mercedes team.
Karun Chandhok is looking forward to the 2026 season, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to the team team principal.
Grid Details
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for the driver: following his result of twentieth and final in the previous race, leading to an eighth-place finish in the main race, he failed to make it out of the first qualifying segment once more on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his car configuration and so he will start from the starting area.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We take the learning for the next day," states Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect plenty of learning.
Constructors' Championship
It's not all about the individual championship: McLaren have run away with the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a 40-point lead over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place this weekend. Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader.
Previous Results
Piastri won that day – as he did last year, too. The driver from McLaren is attempting a hat-trick.
Sprint Race Value
Alright, approximately twenty minutes remaining until the short race begins. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as an indication of what is to come, rather than highly important in its own right, with just eight championship points available to the winner. However, the runner-up spot here was enough for Verstappen to become champion in a prior season.
Max Verstappen claimed F1 world title after Pérez crashes out of Qatar GP sprint race.
