Qatar Sprint Race and Grand Prix Qualifying: Real-Time Updates
Preamble
Our correspondent will be here shortly to take you through this day's short race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
Live Feed
Formation Lap Time
The starting lap has started.
Circuit Details
There are nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in F1, David Croft points out.
Final Moments
The last moments has begun.
Racer Positions
One point in Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. He is unlikely to mess with the team's main man.
Interview Updates
Sky interviewing Sky now: the analyst is with Mercedes.
The analyst is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, speaking with the engineer about his promotion to the team team principal.
Grid Details
Just 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth position in the main race, he did not manage to advance of the first qualifying segment again on the previous day. The team have as a result adjusted to his car configuration and so he will start from the pit lane.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the learning for the next day," states Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect a lot of that.
Team Standings
It's not all about the individual championship: McLaren have run away with the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a 40-point lead over their rivals, will be hoping to secure the runner-up position during this event. George Russell can help them achieve that from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader.
Past Performance
Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he did last year, too. The driver from McLaren is attempting a hat-trick.
Sprint Race Value
Alright, approximately 20 minutes to go till the sprint race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as a preview of what is to come, rather than significant in its own right, with just eight championship points awarded to the victor. However, the runner-up spot in this race was enough for the driver to become champion two years ago.
The driver claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
