🔗 Share this article Qatar Short Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Real-Time Coverage Opening Notes Philip is arriving soon to guide you through today's sprint race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT). Current Events Warm-Up Lap Time The warm-up lap is underway. Track Information We have nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in F1, the commentator points out. Final Moments The last moments has begun. Driver Situation One point in Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Tsunoda is in front of him by a single position. It's improbable to mess with the team's lead driver. Interview Updates Sky's internal discussion now: the analyst is with Mercedes. The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role. Grid Details There are only 16 cars on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he failed to advance of the first qualifying segment again on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result adjusted to his setup and so he will start from the starting area. The team's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise. Driver Comments "We'll use the experience for tomorrow," says Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect plenty of learning. Team Standings The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: McLaren have run away with the constructors' gong but the team, with a 40-point lead over their rivals, are aiming to secure the runner-up position during this event. 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 the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is attempting a third consecutive win. Short Race Importance Alright, just over 20 minutes to go till the sprint race begins. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as an indication of future events, instead of highly important in its itself, with just eight championship points awarded to the winner. However, second place in this race was sufficient for Verstappen to become champion in a prior season. The driver wins the championship following his teammate's accident of the short race.