11.
7:55 p.m
Safety car
The safety car comes onto the track for the third time in this race and collects the field.
11.
19:54
Crash in midfield!
Haas F1
What a wild sprint! Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez seem to have gotten in each other’s way somewhere. Ocon and Pérez get stranded in the gravel bed, Hülkenberg can continue again. How this came about is not yet clear.
11.
19:53
Overtaking maneuver by Oscar Piastri
McLaren
Short process! Oscar Piastri is rapidly catching up with George Russell and is now taking the lead in the sprint!
10.
19:52
Hülkenberg downsizes to Ocon
Nico Hülkenberg should also be happy that the medium tires are now coming. He can reduce his distance towards Esteban Ocon. He, for his part, has Sergio Pérez in tow.
10.
19:51
Overtaking maneuver by Max Verstappen
Red Bull Racing
A lap later, Sainz’s second Ferrari was caught and Verstappen reached the sprint podium. Piastri can now also reduce the gap towards Russell. The pendulum is now clearly swinging towards medium drivers.
9.
7:50 p.m
Overtaking maneuver by Max Verstappen
Red Bull Racing
Is now the time of mediums? Max Verstappen reduces the gap to Leclerc, starts and is already past the first Ferrari. Next on the list will be Carlos Sainz.
8th.
7:48 p.m
Russell can break away
George Russell can now easily break away at the front and has opened up a lead of 1.4 seconds towards Piastri, who is busy keeping Sainz at bay.
7.
19:46
Restart has taken place!
George Russell gets through the restart without any problems, while behind him Piastri has to do with Sainz. He wants to pass straight away, but Piastri slams the door and keeps second position. Further back, Alonso has regained seventh place.
6.
7:45 p.m
Safety car comes in
The safety car comes back into the pits at the end of this lap. So Russell sets the pace straight away.
5.
19:43
Pit radio Carlos Sainz
Ferrari
Carlos Sainz is currently struggling with misfires and asks his team over the radio to find a solution. At the moment he is in good third place.
4.
19:41
Safety car
And so there is once again a safety car! Russell leads ahead of Piastri, Sainz and Leclerc. Verstappen is fifth ahead of Norris. Alonso has fallen behind Ocon to eighth place. Nico Hülkenberg finished ninth.
3.
7:40 p.m
Logan Sargeant’s accident
Williams Racing
Logan Sargeant’s accident! The Canadian loses his Williams without any outside influence and spins into the gravel trap.
3.
7:39 p.m
Overtaking maneuver by George Russell
Mercedes AMG F1 Team
George Russell makes short work and passes the leader in Turn 3 to secure the top position in the sprint!
3.
7:38 p.m
Route reopened!
The safety car has already turned off again and we are restarting! Oscar Piastri can stay in front, but is under pressure from Russell. It’s not easy for the second McLaren either: Alonso is trying to find a way past.
1.
7:35 p.m
Safety car
Liam Lawson is still in the gravel trap and so the safety car has to come out and collect the field. Piastri leads ahead of Russell, Sainz and Leclerc. Behind them are Verstappen and Norris, who got off to a bad start.
1.
7:35 p.m
Start sprint
The traffic lights are out, the sprint has started! Oscar Piastri gets away well, while behind him Verstappen comes under direct pressure from the soft starters. Russell and the Ferrari pass. Further back in the field there is a crash! Lawson lands in the gravel trap. Is there already a safety car?
19:32
It will start soon
The first cars return to the starting grid. It won’t be long until the sprint starts!
7:30 p.m
Introductory round
Led by rookie Oscar Piastri, the field sets out on the introductory lap. The choice of tires in the field is split between medium and soft. The top 3 are all on the medium, followed by Russell, Sainz and Leclerc on the softest mixture. In addition to the trio, Alonso, Ocon, Gasly, Stroll and Sargeant are also on Soft.
19:22
The weather
The sun has now set and the sprint takes place under floodlights. The track temperature before the start is 36 degrees and the air temperature is also over 30 degrees. There are 19 laps to be driven in the sprint.
7:16 p.m
Hülkenberg from seventh place
Nico Hülkenberg made it to seventh place in a good sprint shootout and therefore has a good chance of picking up a few points today. But it certainly won’t be easy, because there are some top drivers lurking behind him and points are only available for the first eight drivers. For the second Haas driver, Kevin Magnussen, it only starts from 19th place.
7:09 p.m
Tires in focus
A tire problem discovered by Pirelli on the new track in Qatar caused a stir on Saturday. During analyzes after Friday training, Pirelli discovered that the tread on the sidewall was detached from the carcass on some sets. Since there was fear of tire damage if the load was even higher, the FIA decided to change the track boundaries in the corner sections where there are special curbs that are suspected to be the cause. The route boundaries were moved inwards by 80 centimeters. If damage is still discovered after the sprint, further measures will be taken on Sunday.
7:03 p.m
McLaren lines up the front row
Max Verstappen will not be starting from pole today. This was secured by McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri in a qualifying that was riddled with many track limit violations. With a lap time of 1:24.454 minutes, he was 0.082 seconds faster than Lando Norris in the second McLaren. Max Verstappen follows in third place on the second row of the grid alongside George Russell. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc form the third starting row.
7:00 p.m
Verstappen before winning the World Cup
Today’s Saturday in Qatar is all about Max Verstappen. The Dutchman is about to celebrate his third world title. To ensure that everything is dry before the race on Sunday, Verstappen just needs to get three points in the sprint, or in other words: he has to finish at least sixth. A task that Verstappen should actually be able to solve without any problems if he doesn’t get involved in any accidents.
6:47 p.m
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the Formula 1 sprint in Qatar. The introductory round starts at 7:30 p.m.!