Qatar Sprint Race and Grand Prix Qualifying: Live Updates
Introduction
Our correspondent is arriving soon to take you through this day's sprint race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT).
Live Feed
Formation Lap Time
The starting lap has started.
Track Information
There are 19 laps of the longest circuit in F1, the commentator reminds us.
Countdown
The last moments has begun.
Racer Positions
An advantage in Max Verstappen's favour: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. It's improbable to challenge the team's main man.
Media Conversations
Sky interviewing Sky now: Gary Neville is at the Mercedes team.
The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, speaking with Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin team principal.
Grid Details
There are only 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in the previous race, leading to 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 adjusted to his setup and so he begins from the starting area.
The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine duo of Gasly and Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the experience for the next day," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be a lot of that.
Constructors' Championship
The focus isn't solely on the drivers' title: McLaren have run away with the team championship but the team, with a 40-point lead over their rivals, will be hoping to seal second place this weekend. George Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen.
Previous Results
Piastri won that day – as he managed the previous season, too. The driver from McLaren is attempting a third consecutive win.
Short Race Importance
Alright, just over twenty minutes remaining till the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as a preview of future events, instead of significant in its own right, with only eight points awarded to the victor. However, the runner-up spot here was enough for the driver to claim the title in a prior season.
Max Verstappen wins the championship following his teammate's accident of Qatar GP sprint race.
