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The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from the British team that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an early race 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 the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Championship Consequences

Verstappen won to take his 7th victory of the season, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver earned an additional points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

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

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

Key Moments of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• McLaren's choice not to stop when a yellow flag was deployed on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by Piastri to advance his final stop in a desperate attempt to challenge the leader came to nothing
• A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver handed by McLaren's strategy call

The Way McLaren Lost Out in The Race

The critical moment for the team was when the two drivers came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One on the seventh lap

The German's car was damaged beside the track That brought out the yellow flag

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

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was locked into a rigid strategy with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Responses and After the Event Comments

Speechless

Piastri added in his post-race conversation: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight My driving was the best race I was capable of, as quick as I could, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: This was an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to box That proved smart And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the end, incredible

Ultimate Race Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at the Yas Marina The circuit itself does not create the most thrilling racing, but once again this evening event hosts an event which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial first title in 2021