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Opening Notes

The author is about to begin to cover this day's short race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).

Current Events

Warm-Up Lap Time

The starting lap has begun.

Circuit Details

There are nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula One, David Croft informs us.

Final Moments

The countdown is underway.

Driver Situation

One point in Max Verstappen's favour: his teammate Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. It's improbable to mess with the team's main man.

Media Conversations

Sky interviewing Sky currently: Gary Neville is at the Mercedes team.

The analyst is looking forward to 2026, speaking with the engineer about his promotion to the team lead role.

Starting Positions

Just sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another poor grid-setting session for the driver: following his result of 20th and last in the previous race, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the main race, he failed to make it out of Q1 again on Friday. The team have consequently made changes to his car configuration and so he will start from the pit lane.

The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine duo of Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position.

Racer Statements

"We'll use the experience for tomorrow," says Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect a lot of that.

Team Standings

The focus isn't solely on the drivers' title: The team have run away with the constructors' gong but the team, with a forty-point advantage over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place during this event. George Russell can help them achieve that from the front row, and Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen.

Past Performance

Piastri won that day – as he managed the previous season, as well. McLaren's Australian is going for a hat-trick.

Short Race Importance

Right, just over twenty minutes to go till the short race gets under way. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as a preview of future events, instead of highly important in its own right, with just eight championship points awarded to the winner. Mind you, second place in this race was sufficient for Verstappen to claim the title in a prior season.

The driver claimed the championship after Pérez crashes out of Qatar GP sprint race.