🔗 Share this article Qatar Sprint Race and Grand Prix Qualifying: Live Coverage Opening Notes The author is arriving soon to guide you through this day's short race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (6pm). Live Feed Formation Lap Period The warm-up lap has started. Circuit Details There are 19 laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, the commentator reminds us. Final Moments The final countdown is on. Racer Positions One point in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to interfere with Red Bull's main man. Interview Updates Sky speaking with Sky now: the analyst is at the Mercedes team. Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, interviewing Adrian Newey about his promotion to the team team principal. Grid Details Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: following his result of 20th and last in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth position in the main race, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 again on the previous day. Ferrari have consequently adjusted to his setup and so he begins from the starting area. The team's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise. Racer Statements "We'll use the learning for tomorrow," states Isack Hadjar, starting eleventh. Expect a lot of that. Constructors' Championship The focus isn't solely on the drivers' title: The team have dominated the constructors' gong but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place during this event. Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen. Past Performance Piastri was victorious then – as he did the previous season, too. The driver from McLaren is attempting a hat-trick. Sprint Race Value Alright, approximately 20 minutes remaining until the sprint race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as a preview of what is to come, instead of significant in its own right, with just eight championship points available to the victor. Mind you, the runner-up spot in this race was enough for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season. Max Verstappen wins F1 world title following his teammate's accident of the short race.