Qatar's Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Live Updates
Opening Notes
The author is about to begin to take you through today's short race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT).
Real-Time Updates
Formation Lap Period
The starting lap has started.
Circuit Details
There are nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, the commentator informs us.
Final Moments
The countdown has begun.
Racer Positions
One point in Max Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is in front of him by a single position. It's improbable to mess with the team's main man.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky now: the analyst is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is looking forward to 2026, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role.
Grid Details
Just 16 cars on the grid. It was another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the main race, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 again on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result adjusted to his car configuration and so he begins from the pit lane.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the learning for tomorrow," states Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be plenty of learning.
Constructors' Championship
The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: The team have dominated the team championship but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, will be hoping to seal second place during this event. Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader.
Past Performance
Oscar Piastri won that day – as he managed the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Alright, approximately twenty minutes to go till the short race begins. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as a preview of future events, rather than significant in its itself, with just eight championship points available to the victor. However, the runner-up spot here was enough for Verstappen to become champion in a prior season.
Max Verstappen claimed the championship after Pérez crashes out of the short race.
