🔗 Share this article

Verstappen capitalized on a tactical decision from the British team that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car deployment

This proved to be a costly decision that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the final stages and retrospectively cost the race win for Piastri

Grand Prix Results and Title Implications

The race winner won to take his 7th win of the season, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver won himself an additional points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

The championship leader has been left with a 12-point lead over Verstappen, who moved ahead of his teammate by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

To win the title, Norris must secure a podium position at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next Sunday

Key Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a safety car was called on lap seven for a collision between the French team's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision led by the Australian to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge the leader proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for Sainz handed by the team's strategy call

How McLaren Missed Out in Qatar

The critical moment for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Frenchman around the exterior of the first corner on lap seven

The German's car was damaged beside the circuit This triggered the safety car

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

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tires, that signified anyone who made a stop at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and After the Event Statements

No words

The McLaren driver added in his after-race interview: Obviously we made mistakes tonight I drove the strongest performance I could, as quick as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but couldn't secure victory

The race winner said: That represented an amazing performance for us Our team executed the right call to pit That proved smart Furthermore extremely pleased to win here and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Final Race Positions

• 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
• 2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren Racing)
• 3. Sainz (Williams)
• 4. Norris (McLaren Racing)
• 5. Antonelli (Mercedes)
• 6. Russell (Mercedes-AMG)
• 7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin F1)
• 8. Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari)
• 9. Liam Lawson (RB F1 Team)
• 10. Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing)

Looking Ahead

The crucial championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most thrilling racing, but yet again this evening event features an contest which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021