🔗 Share this article Qatar's Short Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Real-Time Updates Preamble The author will be here shortly to take you through this day's short race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT). Real-Time Updates Warm-Up Lap Time The starting lap is underway. Track Information We have 19 laps of the longest circuit in Formula One, the commentator reminds us. Countdown The final countdown is on. Driver Situation One point in Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. It's improbable to mess with the team's lead driver. Media Conversations Sky interviewing Sky currently: Gary Neville is with Mercedes. The analyst is looking forward to the 2026 season, interviewing Adrian Newey about his promotion to Aston Martin lead role. Grid Details Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for the driver: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the main race, he failed to advance of the first qualifying segment once more on the previous day. The team have as a result adjusted to his setup and so he will start from the starting area. The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise. Racer Statements "We take the learning for the next day," states Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect a lot of that. Team Standings The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: The team have dominated the constructors' gong but the team, with a 40-point lead over Red Bull, will be hoping to seal second place during this event. George Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Antonelli will start just behind the leader. Previous Results Piastri was victorious then – as he managed last year, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a hat-trick. Short Race Importance Alright, approximately twenty minutes to go till the sprint race begins. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as an indication of future events, instead of significant in its itself, with only eight points available to the winner. Mind you, second place in this race was sufficient for the driver to become champion two years ago. The driver claimed F1 world title after Pérez crashes out of the short race.