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Giles Richards’ report from Qatar will be here shortly, and I’ll be back from 5.30 for qualifying.
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Novak Djokovic on trophy duty – and that’s my lot for now.
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“Our base performance aroumd here is very good, so it’s more about tuning,” says Piastri.
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“George is doing a very good job but the team has given us a very good car,” Norris adds.
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“I never saw him,” Norris says of Verstappen. He predicts a tough race – not easy to pass. Which just adds to the pressure for qualifying.
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“Those last two laps was a real struggle,” says Russell.
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“It’s been a good weekend so far, everything went smoothly,” says Piastri.
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Verstappen may be happy but McLaren are delighted. Both drivers held their own and that’s all they need.
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Verstappen looks quite happy. His car certainly performed better than it did in qualifying.
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Ultimately it was more about laps than drama. What will everyone have learned for qualifying?
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Antonelli does seem to have got a five-second penalty. Which negates Tsunoda’s.
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Russell says his front left would have been in trouble had there been another couple of laps
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Piastri’s first podium since Monza in early September – and, as mentioned at the start, a hat-trick of sprint wins in Qatar.
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Updated at 09.34 EST
Which means Norris leads Piastri by 22 points and Verstappen by 25, I think.
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1. Piastri. 2. Russell. 3. Norris. 4. Verstappen.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri crosses the line to win the sprint race. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 09.44 EST
Piastri cruising home. Norris warned by the team not to risk track limits.
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Gravel is looking as though it could be a big factor tomorrow, putting drivers at risk of slow punctures. Not sure I would fancy getting a broom out during the race.
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Piastri is almost there. Very little has changed at the business end, but now Antonelli is at risk of a track-limits penalty.
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Antonelli is up to sixth for Mercedes. On time he is fifth, though, because of Tsunoda’s penalty. Russell ahead of Verstappen, Antonelli in effect ahead of Tsunoda: Mercedes stretching their advantage over Red Bull by three points.
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Updated at 09.25 EST
Stroll pits. Tyre change, to the softs. Using it as test session.
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Tsunoda gets a five-second time penalty for breaching track limits.
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At this stage we have no idea how the contenders will line up for tomorrow’s grid. But bearing in mind Verstappen’s fade, this is looking like good news for McLaren. If he can’t sustain pressure then the title could be down to Norris v Piastri.
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It’s looking very smooth for Piastri. But it’s getting windy and drivers are breaching track limits. Could this be a factor tomorrow?
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri is performing well under the lights so far. Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/ReutersShare
Updated at 09.23 EST
We are approaching halfway.
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But Norris has pulled clear of Verstappen for now. As Croft and Brundle keep repeating, third, third, third and Norris will be champion in Abu Dhabi. But can you really do that? Nick Faldo won the 1987 Open with 18 straight pars in the final round …
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Updated at 09.16 EST
Norris has lost DRS but Verstappen still too far back.
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A bad day for Ferrari: Charles Leclerc lost four places at the start and is down in 13th. The team’s chances of overtaking Red Bull in the constructors’ standings are diminishing.
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Verstappen knows he has no danger behind him, with Tsunoda in fifth ahead of Alonso.
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Updated at 09.10 EST
Norris has got close enough to Russell and that helps him stay clear.
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Norris needs to get close enough to Russell to get his own DRS. Trains are his friends.
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Verstappen closes on Norris at turn one but can’t get past.
McLaren’s Lando Norris holds off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Photograph: Mohammed Salem/ReutersShare
Updated at 09.17 EST
Piastri has pulled out a second on Russell so is safe from DRS. The key time is the one between Norris and Verstappen.
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Updated at 09.06 EST
Verstappen got past Tsunoda and Fernando Alonso.
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Lights out! Piastri away well, Russell, Norris to the first corner but Verstappen moves up to fourth.
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri (front right) leads shortly after the start of the Sprint race. Photograph: Ali Haider/EPAShare
Updated at 09.20 EST
Martin Brundle is worried by gravel: there’s a lot of it about and it could threaten the medium tyres.
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Formation lap time.
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We have 19 laps of the longest circuit in F1, David Croft reminds us.
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The countdown is on.
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One point in Verstappen’s favour: his teammate Yuki Tsunoda is ahead of him by one place. He is unlikely to mess with Red Bull’s main man.
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Sky interviewing Sky now: Gary Neville is with Mercedes.
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Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin team principal.
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Updated at 08.54 EST
There are only 16 cars on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: after coming 20th and last in Las Vegas, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he failed to make it out of Q1 again on Friday. Ferrari have consequently made changes to his setup and so he will start from the pit lane.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all doing likewise.
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“We take the learning for tomorrow,” says Isack Hadjar, 11th on the grid. There will be a lot of that.
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It’s not all about the drivers’ title: McLaren have run away with the constructors’ gong but Mercedes, with a 40-point lead over Red Bull, will be hoping to seal second place this weekend. Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will start just behind Verstappen.
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Piastri won that day – as he did last year, too. McLaren’s Australian is going for a hat-trick.
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Right, just over 20 minutes to go till the sprint race gets under way. Barring disaster, it’s greatest value is as an indication of what is to come, rather than significant in its own right, with only eight points available to the winner. Mind you, second place here was enough for Verstappen to become champion two years ago:
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Preamble
Philip will be here shortly to take you through today’s sprint race (2pm GMT) and qualifying (6pm).
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