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Preamble

Philip is about to begin to cover this day's sprint race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (6pm).

Live Feed

Warm-Up Lap Time

The formation lap has started.

Track Information

There are nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula One, the commentator points out.

Countdown

The countdown is underway.

Racer Positions

One point in Verstappen's favour: his teammate Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. He is unlikely to interfere with the team's main man.

Media Conversations

Sky speaking with Sky currently: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.

Karun Chandhok is looking forward to 2026, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to the team team principal.

Grid Details

There are only 16 cars on the grid. This followed another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: following his result of twentieth and final in the previous race, resulting in an eighth position in the main race, he did not manage to advance of the first qualifying segment again on Friday. The team have as a result made changes to his car configuration and so he begins from the pit lane.

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Colapinto are all doing likewise.

Driver Comments

"We take the learning for tomorrow," states Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be a lot of that.

Team Standings

It's not all about the drivers' title: McLaren have dominated the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, will be hoping to seal second place during this event. Russell can assist in this goal from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen.

Previous Results

Piastri won that day – as he did last year, as well. The driver from McLaren is going for a hat-trick.

Short Race Importance

Alright, approximately twenty minutes to go until the sprint race begins. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as a preview of future events, rather than highly important in its itself, with just eight championship points available to the victor. Mind you, the runner-up spot here was enough for Verstappen to claim the title two years ago.

Max Verstappen wins the championship after Pérez crashes out of Qatar GP sprint race.