🔗 Share this article Qatar Short Race and Main Event Grid Setting: Real-Time Updates Opening Notes Our correspondent will be here shortly to guide you through today's short race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT). Real-Time Updates Starting Lap Time The starting lap has begun. Circuit Details There are 19 laps of the longest circuit in F1, David Croft points out. Final Moments The countdown is on. Racer Positions An advantage in Max Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. It's improbable to mess with the team's main man. Interview Updates Sky interviewing Sky currently: Gary Neville is at the Mercedes team. Karun Chandhok is looking forward to 2026, speaking with 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: after coming 20th and last 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 Friday. The team have as a result made changes to his setup and so he will start from the pit lane. The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position. Driver Comments "We take the experience for tomorrow," says Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be plenty of learning. Team Standings The focus isn't solely on the drivers' title: The team have run away with the team championship but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place this weekend. Russell can help them achieve that from the front row, and Antonelli will begin immediately after the leader. Past Performance Piastri was victorious then – as he managed last year, as well. McLaren's Australian is attempting a hat-trick. Short Race Importance Right, just over 20 minutes to go till the short race begins. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as a preview of future events, rather than highly important in its own right, with just eight championship points awarded to the winner. However, second place here was enough for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season. The driver claimed the championship following his teammate's accident of the short race.