🔗 Share this article Qatar's Sprint Race and Main Event Qualifying: Live Coverage Opening Notes Philip is about to begin to take you through this day's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (6pm). Current Events Formation Lap Time The warm-up lap has begun. Track Information There are 19 laps around the lengthiest track in F1, David Croft informs us. Countdown The countdown has begun. Driver Situation An advantage in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. He is unlikely to challenge the team's main man. Interview Updates Sky's internal discussion currently: Gary Neville is with Mercedes. The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, speaking with the engineer about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role. Grid Details Just 16 cars on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for the driver: following his result of twentieth and final in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth position in the grand prix, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 once more on the previous day. Ferrari have as a result adjusted 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 learning for the next day," states Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect a lot of that. Constructors' Championship The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: The team have dominated the constructors' gong but the team, with a forty-point advantage over their rivals, will be hoping to seal second place this weekend. Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Antonelli will start just behind the leader. Past Performance Piastri won that day – as he managed the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a hat-trick. Sprint Race Value Right, approximately 20 minutes to go until the short race gets under way. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as a preview of future events, rather than significant in its itself, with just eight championship points awarded to the victor. However, the runner-up spot here was sufficient for Verstappen to claim the title two years ago. The driver claimed F1 world title after his teammate's accident of the short race.