🔗 Share this article Qatar Sprint Race and Grand Prix Qualifying: Real-Time Coverage Opening Notes Our correspondent will be here shortly to guide you through today's sprint race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm). Live Feed Formation Lap Period The formation lap has begun. Track Information We have nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, the commentator points out. Countdown The countdown is underway. Racer Positions One point in Max Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Yuki Tsunoda is in front of him by one place. He is unlikely to mess with the team's lead driver. Media Conversations Sky interviewing Sky currently: Gary Neville is with Mercedes. The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role. Starting Positions Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he failed to advance of the first qualifying segment once more on the previous day. Ferrari have consequently made changes to his car configuration and so he begins from the starting area. Aston Martin's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise. Racer Statements "We take the learning for tomorrow," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be plenty of learning. Constructors' Championship It's not all about the individual championship: McLaren have dominated the team championship but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over their rivals, are aiming to secure the runner-up position during this event. George Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen. Previous Results Oscar Piastri won that day – as he managed last year, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a third consecutive win. Short Race Importance Alright, approximately 20 minutes to go until the short race begins. Barring disaster, it's greatest value is as a preview of what is to come, instead of significant in its itself, with only eight points available to the victor. However, second place here was sufficient for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season. The driver claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of Qatar GP sprint race.