🔗 Share this article Qatar Sprint Race and Main Event Qualifying: Real-Time Updates Opening Notes Our correspondent is about to begin to guide you through today's short race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT). Current Events Warm-Up Lap Period The formation lap has started. Circuit Details We have nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in F1, the commentator reminds us. Final Moments The final countdown is on. Driver Situation One point in Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. It's improbable to challenge the team's lead driver. Media Conversations Sky interviewing Sky now: the analyst is with Mercedes. The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role. Grid Details Just 16 cars on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming 20th and last in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he did not manage to advance of the first qualifying segment again on Friday. The team have consequently made changes to his setup and so he begins from the starting area. The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise. Racer Statements "We take the experience for the next day," says Isack Hadjar, starting eleventh. Expect a lot of that. Constructors' Championship It's not all about the drivers' title: McLaren have run away with the team championship but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place during this event. George Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader. Past Performance Piastri won that day – as he did the previous season, as well. McLaren's Australian is going for a third consecutive win. Sprint Race Value Alright, approximately 20 minutes to go till the sprint race begins. Barring disaster, its main importance is as an indication of what is to come, instead of significant in its itself, with only eight points available to the victor. Mind you, the runner-up spot in this race was enough for the driver to become champion in a prior season. Max Verstappen claimed the championship following Pérez crashes out of the short race.