Qatar's Short Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Live Updates
Preamble
The author will be here shortly to guide you through this day's short race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
Current Events
Formation Lap Time
The warm-up lap has begun.
Track Information
There are 19 laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, the commentator informs us.
Countdown
The last moments has begun.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Verstappen's favour: his fellow driver Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with Red Bull's main man.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky now: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
The analyst is looking forward to the 2026 season, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to the team team principal.
Starting Positions
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: following his result of twentieth and final in the previous race, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the main race, he did not manage to make it out of the first qualifying segment once more on Friday. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his setup and so he will start from the starting area.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Racer Statements
"We take the learning for the next day," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. Expect a lot of that.
Team Standings
It's not all about the individual championship: McLaren have run away with the team championship but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to secure the runner-up position during this event. Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader.
Previous Results
Piastri was victorious then – as he managed last year, too. The driver from McLaren is going for a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Right, approximately 20 minutes remaining till the sprint race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as an indication of future events, rather than significant in its itself, with only eight points awarded to the victor. However, second place in this race was sufficient for Verstappen to become champion in a prior season.
Max Verstappen wins the championship following his teammate's accident of the short race.
