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The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from the British team that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car period

This proved to be a expensive choice that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Championship Implications

Verstappen triumphed to take his 7th win of the season, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

Norris won himself an extra two points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

The championship leader has been left with a twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who moved ahead of his teammate by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To secure the title, the British driver must finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next race day

Critical Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• McLaren's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by the Australian to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch Verstappen came to nothing
• A unexpected second podium for Sainz gifted by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

The critical moment for the team was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One on lap seven

The German's car was left damaged beside the track That brought out the safety car

The critical part of the timing was that it left exactly 50 laps left in the grand prix

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that meant anyone who made a stop at that moment was committed to a rigid strategy with a second stop on lap 32

Competitor Reactions and After the Event Statements

Speechless

Piastri commented in his after-race interview: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight I drove the strongest performance I could, as quick as I could, but there was no more pace out there Tried my best but didn't get it done

Verstappen stated: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the correct decision to box It was smart Furthermore extremely pleased to win here and stay in the fight to the end, incredible

Final Race Standings

• 1. Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren Racing)
• 3. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
• 4. Norris (McLaren Racing)
• 5. Antonelli (Mercedes)
• 6. George Russell (Mercedes-AMG)
• 7. Alonso (Aston Martin)
• 8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
• 9. Lawson (Racing Bulls)
• 10. Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing)

Looking Ahead

The all-important title decider at the Yas Marina This venue does not create the most exciting competition, but yet again this twilight race hosts an event which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial first title in twenty-twenty-one