Qatar Short Race and Grand Prix Grid Setting: Live Coverage
Preamble
Philip is about to begin to take you through this day's short race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (6pm).
Live Feed
Formation Lap Time
The warm-up lap has begun.
Track Information
We have nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in F1, the commentator points out.
Countdown
The last moments has begun.
Driver Situation
One point in Max Verstappen's favour: his fellow driver Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. He is unlikely to mess with the team's lead driver.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky currently: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is looking forward to 2026, speaking with the engineer about his promotion to the team team principal.
Grid Details
There are only 16 cars on the grid. This followed another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: following his result of 20th and last in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth position in the main race, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 once more on Friday. The team have consequently made changes to his setup and so he will start from the starting area.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Racer Statements
"We'll use the experience for tomorrow," states Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be a lot of that.
Team Standings
The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: McLaren have dominated the team championship but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place this weekend. Russell can help them achieve that from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader.
Previous Results
Piastri was victorious then – as he did the previous season, as well. The driver from McLaren is attempting a hat-trick.
Short Race Importance
Alright, just over twenty minutes remaining till the short race gets under way. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as a preview of what is to come, rather than highly important in its own right, with only eight points awarded to the winner. However, second place in this race was sufficient for the driver to become champion in a prior season.
The driver claimed F1 world title following his teammate's accident of Qatar GP sprint race.
