🔗 Share this article Qatar Short Race and Main Event Qualifying: Real-Time Updates Introduction Our correspondent is arriving soon to take you through this day's short race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm). Live Feed Warm-Up Lap Time The starting lap has started. Circuit Details We have nineteen laps of the longest circuit in F1, David Croft reminds us. Final Moments The last moments is on. Driver Situation One point in Verstappen's favour: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. He is unlikely to challenge the team's lead driver. Media Conversations Sky speaking with Sky currently: the analyst is at the Mercedes team. The analyst is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role. Starting Positions There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for the driver: following his result of 20th and last in the previous race, leading to an eighth position in the main race, he did not manage to make it out of Q1 once more on Friday. The team have as a result adjusted to his car configuration and so he begins from the starting area. The team's Stroll and the Alpine duo of Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise. Driver Comments "We'll use the experience for tomorrow," says Hadjar, starting eleventh. Expect plenty of learning. Constructors' Championship It's not all about the drivers' title: The team have dominated the constructors' gong but the team, 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 Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader. Previous Results Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he managed the previous season, too. McLaren's Australian is going for a third consecutive win. Short Race Importance Alright, just over 20 minutes remaining till the short race begins. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as a preview of future events, instead of significant in its own right, with just eight championship points available to the winner. Mind you, second place here was enough for Verstappen to claim the title two years ago. The driver claimed the championship following his teammate's accident of the short race.