F1 Qatar GP live commentary and updates - Race

So, why is Losail such a difficult circuit for cars to race? Much has been made of the lack of DRS zones, with just one short zone on the main straight.

But as Russell said after the uneventful sprint: "I didn’t even get DRS one single lap, so it doesn’t matter if it was three times the length or shorter.

“Obviously, when you go around a corner almost flat out with three high-speed corners before the straight, it’s challenging to stay close. And then Turn 1, we’re braking around 40 metres before the corner, whereas at other tracks we’re braking at 100 or 110 metres.

"So yeah, it’s definitely one of the best tracks on the whole calendar to drive. Overtaking? It’s one of the toughest.” 

Also fair play to Leonardo Fornaroli by the way, who is the new Formula 2 champion. The only title contender not to be affiliated with an F1 team, funnily enough, and there won't be any seats available for the Italian to move up straight away.

But second place in the Qatar feature race was enough to build up a 41-point buffer on Jak Crawford and Richard Verschoor, so he can't be caught in Abu Dhabi.

Alpine's Franco Colapinto starts from the pitlane after taking his car out of parc ferme to make set-up changes. Not that it's going to change his life, with how tough it will be to move up.

Pierre Gasly did excel yesterday with ninth in qualifying, which he was delighted with. Fair play to the Frenchman after an abysmal year for the squad, which basically gave up on this season to focus on 2026.

Yesterday was another woeful day for Ferrari, then, with Charles Leclerc just about making it to Q3. No such luck for Lewis Hamilton, who was dumped out of Q1 on consecutive weekends. 2026 can't come soon enough for the Scuderia.

Ferrari boss John Elkann may want to look at the onboards of his drivers having to tame their bucking bronco before wanting drivers who "drive more, talk less".

Starting grid

1 Piastri
2 Norris
3 Verstappen
4 Russell
5 Antonelli
6 Hadjar
7 Sainz
8 Alonso
9 Gasly
10 Leclerc
11 Hulkenberg
12 Lawson
13 Bearman
14 Albon
15 Tsunoda
16 Ocon
17 Hamilton
18 Stroll
19 Bortoleto
PL Colapinto

Then there's the old chestnut of Pirelli's tyre woes in Qatar. The manufacturer has mandated a maximum tyre life of 25 laps as a precaution against a repeat of last year's punctures. Those are caused by the tyre tread wearing down too much  in volume and providing less protection against the underlying construction. Losail's copious gravel traps have also caused some damage to the tyres this weekend.

The net result is that the 57-lap race will be a mandatory two-stop race, locking teams into very similar strategies.

Norris basically has to finish ahead of both of his title rivals to force a decision today. After Piastri's sprint win the Australian trails him by 22 points, with Verstappen now 25 points in arrears.

That's easier said than done, because Norris starts on the dirty side of the grid in second. And Max Verstappen has already promised to go full attack at the start from third.

The reigning world champion has no other choice, as overtaking proved pretty much impossible in yesterday's 19-lap snoozefest of a sprint.

As McLaren's Zak Brown said yesterday, "you won't want to miss the start" of this one.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2025 F1 world championship.

Is this also going the round that will crown a new world champion? Then Lando Norris will have to find a way past McLaren team-mate and polesitter Oscar Piastri, all while keeping Max Verstappen at bay.