Qatar's Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Live Updates
Preamble
The author is arriving soon to take you through today's short race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
Real-Time Updates
Warm-Up Lap Time
The starting lap is underway.
Track Information
We have 19 laps of the longest circuit in F1, David Croft points out.
Final Moments
The countdown has begun.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Verstappen's favour: his teammate Tsunoda is in front of him by a single position. He is unlikely to mess with the team's lead driver.
Media Conversations
Sky's internal discussion currently: Gary Neville is at the Mercedes team.
Karun Chandhok is looking forward to the 2026 season, speaking with the engineer about his promotion to the team team principal.
Grid Details
Just 16 cars on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in the previous race, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the main race, he did not manage to advance of Q1 again on the previous day. The team have as a result made changes to his setup and so he will start from the pit lane.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the experience for tomorrow," states Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be plenty of learning.
Team Standings
The focus isn't solely on the drivers' title: McLaren have dominated the team championship but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over their rivals, will be hoping to seal second place during this event. Russell can assist in this goal from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen.
Past Performance
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 20 minutes to go till the short race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, 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 winner. Mind you, second place here was enough for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season.
The driver claimed the championship after Pérez crashes out of Qatar GP sprint race.
