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The championship contender capitalized on a strategy call from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car deployment

This proved to be a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and in hindsight cost the race win for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Championship Implications

Verstappen triumphed to take his 7th win of the campaign, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was second and the Briton fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

Norris won himself an additional points by passing the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

Norris has been left with a twelve point advantage over his rival, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To win the title, the British driver must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if his rival wins the race next race day

Critical Events of the Thrilling Race

• The team's decision not to pit when a safety car was called on the seventh lap for a collision between the French team's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by the Australian to bring forward his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge the leader came to nothing
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call

The Way The British Team Lost Out in Qatar

The critical point for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One on lap seven

The German's car was left damaged beside the circuit This triggered the yellow flag

The crucial part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps left in the race

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was locked into a rigid strategy with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Responses and After the Event Statements

No words

Piastri added in his after-race interview: Obviously we made mistakes tonight I drove the best race I was capable of, as fast as I could, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but didn't get it done

Verstappen said: This was an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to box It was smart And extremely pleased to win here and remain competitive to the head, incredible

Final Race Positions

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina This venue does not produce the most thrilling racing, but yet again this evening event features an event which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021