🔗 Share this article Qatar's Sprint Race and Grand Prix Grid Setting: Live Coverage Introduction Philip is arriving soon to guide you through today's sprint race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm). Current Events Formation Lap Time The starting lap has begun. Track Information We have 19 laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, David Croft informs us. Final Moments The countdown is underway. Racer Positions One point in Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. He is unlikely to interfere with the team's main man. Interview Updates Sky interviewing Sky currently: Gary Neville is at the Mercedes team. The analyst is looking forward to 2026, speaking with Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin team principal. Grid Details Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: after coming 20th and last in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the main race, he failed to make it out of Q1 again on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result made changes to his car configuration and so he begins from the pit lane. Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre 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 It's not all about the drivers' title: The team have run away with the constructors' gong but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, will be hoping to secure the runner-up position during this event. Russell can help them achieve that from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader. Past Performance Piastri was victorious then – as he managed the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a third consecutive win. Short Race Importance Right, just over 20 minutes to go until the short race begins. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as an indication of future events, instead of significant in its itself, with just eight championship points available to the winner. Mind you, the runner-up spot here was sufficient for Verstappen to become champion two years ago. The driver wins the championship following his teammate's accident of the short race.