The author is about to begin to cover this day's sprint race (2pm GMT) and grid-setting session (6pm).
The formation lap is underway.
There are nineteen laps of the longest circuit in Formula One, David Croft informs us.
The final countdown is on.
One point in Max Verstappen's favour: his fellow driver Tsunoda is ahead of him by a single position. He is unlikely to mess with the team's main man.
Sky interviewing Sky currently: the analyst is at the Mercedes team.
Karun Chandhok is jumping ahead to 2026, interviewing the engineer about his stepping up to Aston Martin lead role.
There are only sixteen vehicles on the grid. It was another bad qualifying for Lewis Hamilton: following his result of twentieth and final in the previous race, leading to an eighth-place finish in the grand prix, he did not manage to make it out of the first qualifying segment again on Friday. Ferrari have as a result adjusted to his setup 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 doing likewise.
"We take the learning for the next day," states Hadjar, starting eleventh. Expect a lot of that.
It's not all about the individual championship: McLaren have run away with the constructors' gong but the team, with a forty-point advantage over their rivals, will be hoping to seal second place during this event. Russell can help them achieve that from second place, and Antonelli will start just behind the leader.
Piastri was victorious then – as he did the previous season, too. The driver from McLaren is attempting a third consecutive win.
Alright, just over 20 minutes remaining till the sprint race begins. Unless something goes wrong, it's greatest value is as a preview of what is to come, rather than significant in its itself, with only eight points awarded to the winner. However, second place in this race was enough for the driver to claim the title in a prior season.
The driver claimed the championship after his teammate's accident of the short race.
Milan is een ervaren opticien met een passie voor visuele technologie en klantgerichtheid.
