Qatar Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Live Coverage
Introduction
The author is arriving soon to guide you through this day's short race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT).
Current Events
Warm-Up Lap Period
The starting lap has begun.
Track Information
We have nineteen laps of the longest circuit in F1, David Croft informs us.
Countdown
The final countdown is underway.
Driver Situation
One point in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is in front of him by a single position. It's improbable to challenge the team's lead driver.
Interview Updates
Sky's internal discussion 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 lead role.
Starting Positions
There are only 16 cars on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in the previous race, resulting in an eighth position in the main race, he failed to advance of Q1 once more on Friday. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his setup and so he will start from the starting area.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
Driver Comments
"We'll use the learning for tomorrow," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be a lot of that.
Constructors' Championship
It's not all about the drivers' title: The team have run away with the team championship but the team, with a 40-point lead over Red Bull, will be hoping to secure the runner-up position during this event. George Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader.
Past Performance
Piastri was victorious then – as he did last year, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a third consecutive win.
Short Race Importance
Right, just over twenty minutes to go till the short race gets under way. Barring disaster, its main importance is as an indication of future events, instead of significant in its own right, with only eight points awarded to the victor. Mind you, the runner-up spot here was sufficient for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season.
Max Verstappen wins the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
