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Preamble

The author is arriving soon to guide you through today's short race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm).

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Formation Lap Time

The warm-up lap has begun.

Circuit Details

We have 19 laps of the longest circuit in Formula 1, David Croft points out.

Final Moments

The countdown has begun.

Racer Positions

One point in Verstappen's advantage: his fellow driver Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. He is unlikely to interfere with Red Bull's lead driver.

Media Conversations

Sky speaking with Sky currently: the analyst is at the Mercedes team.

Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, speaking with the engineer about his stepping up to Aston Martin team principal.

Grid Details

There are only 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in Las Vegas, resulting in an eighth position in the grand prix, he did not manage to make it out of the first qualifying segment once more on Friday. Ferrari have as a result adjusted 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.

Racer Statements

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

Constructors' Championship

The focus isn't solely on the drivers' title: The team have dominated the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a forty-point advantage over their rivals, will be hoping to secure the runner-up position during this event. Russell can assist in this goal from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind the leader.

Previous Results

Piastri won that day – as he did last year, too. McLaren's Australian is attempting a hat-trick.

Short Race Importance

Alright, approximately twenty minutes to go until the short race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, its main importance is as an indication of future events, rather than highly important in its own right, with just eight championship points awarded to the victor. Mind you, the runner-up spot in this race was enough for the driver to become champion two years ago.

Max Verstappen claimed F1 world title following his teammate's accident of Qatar GP sprint race.