Qatar's Sprint Race and Main Event Qualifying: Real-Time Updates
Introduction
Our correspondent will be here shortly to cover today's sprint race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
Current Events
Formation Lap Period
The starting lap has started.
Circuit Details
There are 19 laps of the longest circuit in F1, David Croft points out.
Final Moments
The countdown has begun.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Max Verstappen's favour: his fellow driver Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. He is unlikely to challenge the team's lead driver.
Interview Updates
Sky interviewing Sky now: the analyst is with Mercedes.
The analyst is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, interviewing Adrian Newey about his promotion to the team team principal.
Starting Positions
Just 16 cars on the grid. It was another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: after coming 20th and last in Las Vegas, 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 adjusted to his car configuration and so he begins from the pit lane.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Gasly and Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the learning for tomorrow," states Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect a lot of that.
Constructors' Championship
The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: McLaren have run away with the team championship but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, will be hoping to secure the runner-up position this weekend. George Russell can assist in this goal from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen.
Past Performance
Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he did last year, too. McLaren's Australian is attempting a hat-trick.
Sprint Race Value
Right, approximately 20 minutes remaining until the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as an indication of what is to come, instead of significant in its itself, with only eight points available to the winner. Mind you, the runner-up spot in this race was sufficient for the driver to become champion in a prior season.
The driver wins the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
