Philip is arriving soon to cover today's sprint race (14:00 GMT) and qualifying (18:00 GMT).
The warm-up lap has started.
There are nineteen laps around the lengthiest track in Formula One, the commentator points out.
The countdown has begun.
An advantage in Verstappen's advantage: his teammate Tsunoda is in front of him by a single position. It's improbable to interfere with Red Bull's main man.
Sky interviewing Sky currently: the analyst is at the Mercedes team.
The analyst is jumping ahead to the 2026 season, interviewing Adrian Newey about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role.
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. This followed another poor grid-setting session for Lewis Hamilton: after coming twentieth and final in the previous race, leading to an eighth position in the grand prix, he failed to make it out of Q1 once more on Friday. Ferrari have consequently adjusted to his setup and so he begins from the starting area.
The team's Lance Stroll and the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are all starting from the same position.
"We take the experience for the next day," says Hadjar, 11th on the grid. Expect plenty of learning.
It's not all about the individual championship: The team have run away with the constructors' gong but Mercedes, with a 40-point lead over Red Bull, are aiming to seal second place during this event. Russell can assist in this goal from second place, and Kimi Antonelli will begin immediately after Verstappen.
Oscar Piastri was victorious then – as he did the previous season, too. The driver from McLaren is going for a third consecutive win.
Right, approximately 20 minutes remaining till the short race gets under way. Barring disaster, its main importance is as an indication of future events, rather than significant in its own right, with just eight championship points available to the victor. However, the runner-up spot here was sufficient for the driver to claim the title in a prior season.
The driver wins the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
Astrophysicist and space technology consultant with 15 years of experience in lunar mission planning and research.
