Qatar Short Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Real-Time Updates

Preamble

Philip will be here shortly to guide you through this day's short race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT).

Live Feed

Starting Lap Time

The warm-up lap has started.

Track Information

We have 19 laps around the lengthiest track in Formula 1, David Croft reminds us.

Final Moments

The final countdown has begun.

Racer Positions

An advantage in Max Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to challenge the team's lead driver.

Media Conversations

Sky interviewing Sky currently: Gary Neville is at the Mercedes team.

The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, speaking with the engineer about his promotion to the team lead role.

Starting Positions

There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth position in the main race, he did not manage to advance of Q1 again on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his car configuration and so he begins from the pit lane.

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise.

Racer Statements

"We'll use the learning for the next day," says Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be plenty of learning.

Constructors' Championship

The focus isn't solely on the drivers' title: McLaren have dominated the constructors' gong but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, will be hoping to secure the runner-up position during this event. George Russell can assist in this goal from second place, and Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen.

Past Performance

Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he did last year, as well. McLaren's Australian is attempting a third consecutive win.

Sprint Race Value

Right, approximately 20 minutes to go until the short race begins. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as a preview of future events, rather than highly important in its own right, with just eight championship points available to the winner. However, the runner-up spot in this race was sufficient for Verstappen to become champion in a prior season.

The driver claimed F1 world title following his teammate's accident of the short race.