🔗 Share this article Qatar's Short Race and Grand Prix Qualifying: Live Updates Preamble Our correspondent will be here shortly to guide you through today's short race (14:00 GMT) and grid-setting session (18:00 GMT). Live Feed Warm-Up Lap Time The warm-up lap is underway. Track Information We have nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, the commentator reminds us. Final Moments The final countdown has begun. Racer Positions One point in Max Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. It's improbable to interfere with the team's main man. Interview Updates Sky interviewing Sky currently: the analyst is with Mercedes. Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to 2026, speaking with Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role. Starting Positions Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 once more on Friday. Ferrari have consequently made changes to his setup and so he will start from the starting area. The team's Stroll and the Alpine pair of Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position. Driver Comments "We take the experience for the next day," states Isack Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be plenty of learning. Team Standings It's not all about the individual championship: The team have dominated the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, will be hoping to seal second place this weekend. Russell can assist in this goal from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader. Previous Results Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he managed the previous season, too. The driver from McLaren is attempting a hat-trick. Short Race Importance Alright, just over 20 minutes remaining until the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, its main importance is as a preview of what is to come, rather than significant in its itself, with only eight points awarded to the winner. Mind you, the runner-up spot here was enough for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season. Max Verstappen claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of Qatar GP sprint race.