🔗 Share this article Qatar's Short Race and Grand Prix Qualifying: Real-Time Coverage Preamble Our correspondent is arriving soon to take you through this day's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT). Current Events Formation Lap Time The warm-up lap has started. Track Information There are 19 laps around the lengthiest track in F1, David Croft points out. Final Moments The final countdown is on. Racer Positions An advantage in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. It's improbable to mess with Red Bull's main man. Interview Updates Sky's internal discussion currently: Gary Neville is with Mercedes. Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing the engineer about his promotion to Aston Martin lead role. Grid Details There are only 16 cars on the grid. This followed another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: following his result of 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 once more on Friday. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his setup and so he begins from the starting area. Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise. Driver Comments "We take the learning for tomorrow," states Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect a lot of that. Constructors' Championship It's not all about the individual championship: The team 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. Russell can assist in this goal from second place, and Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen. Past Performance Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he managed last year, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a hat-trick. Short Race Importance Right, just over twenty minutes to go till the short race begins. Barring disaster, its main importance is as an indication of future events, rather than significant in its own right, with just eight championship points awarded to the winner. However, second place in this race was enough for the driver to become champion in a prior season. Max Verstappen wins F1 world title after Pérez crashes out of Qatar GP sprint race.