Logan Sargeant is also into the gravel! The Williams man is out of the car and another safety car is needed.

Oscar Piastri stays in front and pulls his McLaren away from the Mercedes of George Russell. The Australian is struggling to hold on and Russell takes the lead on the soft tyres!

Safety car is coming in the end of this lap. Max Verstappen may be fifth but that will be good enough for a title win.

Green flag! Let's go again!

Alex Brundle
British racing driver and broadcaster on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

The safety car has been deployed and he (Lawson) has absolutely beached the engine lost and the car looking very much out of the race.

The Ferraris were in no mood to hang around during that start and Carlos Sainz now sits in third palce, with Charles Leclerc in fourth. George Russell has shifted his Red Bull up to second as Max Verstappen has fallen to fifth spot.

The Alpha Tauri is beached and Liam Lawson's troubles on the opening lap has brought out a safety car.

Oscar Piastri makes a great start and leads the sprint race! There is a yellow flag in sector one already as it looks like Liam Lawson has gone off the track. Lando Norris has dropped all the way down to sixth place.

The Formula 1 title is there for Max Verstappen. A first-time win is on the table for Oscar Piastri.

Last of the stragglers are making their way to the grid. Are we in for a big night under the lights in Qatar?

McLaren have given Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris clear instructions in order to bring home a double podium. "Stay in first and second until the end of the race," Piastri tells Sky Sports.

The sprint race is 19 laps around the Lusail International Circuit but for tomorrow's full grand prix, Pirelli have imposed a 20-lap limit for new tyres, and 22 for used, after noticing tyre damage after analysis following qualifying on Friday.

Read the full story here

In the meantime, Pirelli have estimated the time gaps between each tyre compound.

Top three are on the mediums, some have opted for the soft compound...

Image source, Pirelli Motorsport

If you're new to the format, this shorter race - 19 laps in total - is independent from the main grand prix and offers drivers the chance to score some championship points a day earlier.

Here is what finishing in the top eight will get you:

• First - eight points
• Second - seven points
• Third - six points
• Fourth - five points
• Fifth - four points
• Sixth - three points
• Seventh - two points
• Eighth - one point

This is the fourth sprint event of six this season and so far, Max Verstappen has claimed two victories from pole position. Charles Leclerc took the front-row spot in Baku but the Ferrari driver was overtaken by Sergio Perez in the Saturday race.

Belgian Grand Prix (July)

Sprint shootout

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

Sprint race

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

Austrian Grand Prix (July)

Sprint shootout

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
3. Lando Norris (McLaren)

Sprint race

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

Azerbaijan Grand Prix (April)

Sprint shootout

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

Sprint race

1. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

Image source, Getty Images

The third of this year's sprint races took place at the Belgian Grand Prix in what was an incident-packed wet running at Spa-Francorchamps.

Max Verstappen started on pole position but lost the lead to today's polesitter Oscar Piastri when the McLaren driver switched to intermediate tyres as soon as the race was started following five laps behind the safety car.

Verstappen stuck with the mandatory full wet tyres for a lap before his own change, and had to ride out a safety car period before blasting through into the lead by passing Piastri on the Kemmel straight.

Piastri stayed in second spot to secure his best finish in Formula 1 in his rookie season, with Pierre Gasly celebrating third place for Alpine.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth but was given a five-second penalty for a collision with Red Bull's Sergio Perez that caused the Mexican to retire. Hamilton was dropped to seventh just in front of team-mate George Russell.

Image source, EPA

Lewis Hamilton failed to make it through to the sprint pole shootout after succumbing to those pesky track limits in SQ2 and will start 12th on the grid tonight.

"It was a lot different to yesterday," Hamilton said of his Mercedes. "Yesterday it felt pretty decent then today, I don't know whether it's the wind or the temperature being a lot hotter, just the balance was completely off.

"And track limits, yeah. had it mostly Turn 13, with the changes that they made, but it's alright."

Did the late changes to Turns 12 and 13 make it difficult to adapt? "We've never had anything like that before, going into qualifying, but everyone is in the same boat," said the seven-time world champion.

"I just struggled more with the balance. I had a lot of understeer. I can't really pinpoint why the car was the way it was, but it's a sprint day, so..."

Simple. Today.

Finish sixth or higher in the sprint race and title glory will be Max Verstappen's.

If Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez wins the sprint with Verstappen outside of the points, eighth place in Sunday's grand prix will be enough for the Dutchman.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen has almost secured his membership card to the three-time world champions' club but he too was not impressed by his run in the sprint shootout.

"It was just quite tricky," said Verstappen. "Also, with the wind, the car was moving around a little bit more than yesterday. And probably not the best lap of my life.

"But it's OK. Still P3. Still a few laps in sprint as well, so it will be quite interesting, I think. Normally, our car is quite good in the heat. I think we just couldn't get it together for the quali.

Can the champion-elect make a few overtakes in the sprint race? "It will be tough but it also depends on how your tyres are staying alive," he said. "The wear is high, so let's see if we have a bit of a better race pace on them."

Image source, Getty Images

So, Lando Norris might have been a bit down but Zak Brown was ready with the high fives and bear hugs for the Briton and Oscar Piastri after the team locked-out the front row for the sprint.

"P1 and P2 in the Sprint Shootout! MEGA MEGA JOB!" wrote the McLaren boss on X, formerly Twitter.

"Two McLaren's back on the front row looks good to me. Let's make it count in the Sprint later on."

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris gets to keep his P2 starting position for the sprint race after his qualifying lap time was deleted in the pole fight yesterday but the McLaren driver reflected on what he feels was a disappointing performance in the sprint shootout.

"I'm happy for the team, happy for Oscar but I did another bad today," said Norris.

"I'm just not happy, I'm just not doing a very good job. Yeah, should've been pole yesterday, should've been pole today, but I'm not."

On what he thinks could be the issue this weekend, Norris said: "I don't know. Different things. Different reasons, yesterday and today. Just mistakes. Not putting the lap together when I need to it - easily quick enough for pole - I just don't put it together at all.

"But Oscar did a good job and Max has done a good job again. Frustrating, as the car is quick enough and the team is doing an excellent job, but I'm just not delivering on what I need to do, so of course, I'm not going to be happy with myself."

Image source, Reuters

Oscar Piastri joked on his social media that Saturday's post-qualifying chat was a "more enjoyable interview than yesterday", and no wonder, as today he's a Formula 1 sprint polesitter.

The 22-year-old told Sky Sports he was happy with his position for the 19-lap dash but he added a pole on Friday for Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix "would've been even better".

Do you think Piastri will hold off team-mate Lando Norris and the force of the nature that is Max Verstappen's Red Bull to claim victory in the sprint?

Send me your thoughts via the thumbs below.