Qatar Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Live Coverage
Preamble
The author will be here shortly to cover this day's short race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
Live Feed
Warm-Up Lap Period
The warm-up lap has begun.
Circuit Details
We have 19 laps of the longest circuit in F1, David Croft points out.
Final Moments
The final countdown has begun.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with Red Bull's main man.
Interview Updates
Sky's internal discussion now: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to Aston Martin team principal.
Grid Details
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming 20th and last in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he failed to advance of the first qualifying segment once more on the previous day. The team have consequently made changes to his car configuration and so he will start from the pit lane.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Driver Comments
"We take the experience for the next day," says Isack Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be a lot of that.
Constructors' Championship
The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: The team have run away with the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a 40-point lead over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place this weekend. Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Antonelli will start just behind the leader.
Past Performance
Piastri won that day – as he did last year, as well. McLaren's Australian is attempting a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Right, just over twenty minutes to go until the sprint race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as an indication of future events, rather than highly important in its own right, with just eight championship points available to the victor. However, second place here was sufficient for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season.
Max Verstappen claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of Qatar GP sprint race.
