Qatar's Sprint Race and Grand Prix Qualifying: Live Coverage
Preamble
The author is about to begin to cover this day's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
Current Events
Warm-Up Lap Time
The formation lap is underway.
Track Information
There are nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, David Croft informs us.
Final Moments
The countdown is underway.
Driver Situation
One point in Max Verstappen's favour: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is in front of him by a single position. He is unlikely to mess with Red Bull's main man.
Media Conversations
Sky's internal discussion now: the analyst is at the Mercedes team.
The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to the team team principal.
Starting Positions
Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: following his result of twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the main race, he failed to make it out of Q1 again on Friday. Ferrari have as a result adjusted to his car configuration and so he will start from the starting area.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Racer Statements
"We take the experience for the next day," states Isack Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be a lot of that.
Constructors' Championship
The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: The team have run away with the team championship but the team, with a 40-point lead over Red Bull, are aiming to secure the runner-up position during this event. Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen.
Previous Results
Piastri won that day – as he did last year, as well. McLaren's Australian is going for a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Right, just over twenty minutes remaining until the short race begins. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as an indication of what is to come, rather than highly important in its itself, with only eight points awarded to the victor. Mind you, the runner-up spot in this race was sufficient for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season.
The driver wins F1 world title after Pérez crashes out of the short race.
