🔗 Share this article Qatar Sprint Race and Grand Prix Grid Setting: Real-Time Coverage Preamble Our correspondent is about to begin to take you through today's sprint race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (6pm). Real-Time Updates Starting Lap Period The starting lap is underway. Circuit Details We have 19 laps around the lengthiest track in F1, the commentator points out. Countdown The countdown is on. Driver Situation An advantage in Max Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is in front of him by a single position. He is unlikely to mess with the team's lead driver. Interview Updates Sky's internal discussion currently: Gary Neville is with Mercedes. Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role. Grid Details There are only 16 cars on the grid. It was another poor grid-setting session for the driver: following his result of twentieth and final in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he did not manage 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. The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all starting from the same position. Racer Statements "We'll use the learning for the next day," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. There will be plenty of learning. Constructors' Championship The focus isn't solely on the individual championship: The team have run away with the team championship but Mercedes, with a 40-point lead over Red Bull, will be hoping to seal second place during this event. Russell can help them achieve that from the front row, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen. Previous Results Piastri won that day – as he managed the previous season, as well. The driver from McLaren is attempting a third consecutive win. Sprint Race Value Right, approximately twenty minutes remaining till the short race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as an indication of what is to come, rather than significant in its own right, with only eight points awarded to the winner. Mind you, the runner-up spot here was enough for the driver to become champion in a prior season. The driver wins F1 world title following his teammate's accident of the short race.