Qatar's Sprint Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Live Coverage
Opening Notes
Philip will be here shortly to guide you through this day's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
Live Feed
Warm-Up Lap Time
The warm-up lap has started.
Track Information
We have 19 laps around the lengthiest track in F1, the commentator reminds us.
Final Moments
The last moments is on.
Driver Situation
An advantage in Max Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Yuki Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with the team's main man.
Interview Updates
Sky speaking with Sky now: the analyst is with Mercedes.
Karun Chandhok is looking forward to the 2026 season, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role.
Grid Details
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another poor grid-setting session for the driver: following his result of twentieth and final in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he failed to make it out of Q1 once more on Friday. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his car configuration and so he will start from the starting area.
The team's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the experience for tomorrow," says Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect plenty of learning.
Team Standings
The focus isn't solely on the drivers' title: The team have run away with the team championship but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, will be hoping to seal second place this weekend. Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader.
Past Performance
Oscar Piastri won that day – as he managed last year, too. The driver from McLaren is going for a third consecutive win.
Sprint Race Value
Right, just over 20 minutes remaining till the sprint race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as a preview of future events, instead of highly important in its itself, with just eight championship points available to the winner. However, the runner-up spot here was enough for Verstappen to claim the title two years ago.
The driver wins the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
