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Verstappen capitalized on a tactical decision from the British team that flew in the face of decisions made by every other team during an early race safety car deployment

This proved to be a costly decision that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and retrospectively cost the race win for Piastri

Race Outcome and Title Consequences

The race winner triumphed to take his seventh victory of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver won himself an extra two points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

Norris has been left with a twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who moved ahead of his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To win the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen takes victory next Sunday

Critical Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's choice not to stop when a safety car was deployed on lap seven for a crash between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by the Australian to bring forward his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for Sainz gifted by the team's tactical decision

How McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

The critical point for the team was when the two drivers collided as the German tried to pass the Frenchman around the outside of the first corner on the seventh lap

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

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

With Pirelli enforcing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tires, that meant anyone who made a stop at that moment was committed to a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and After the Event Comments

Speechless

Piastri commented in his post-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight I drove the strongest performance I could, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my best but didn't get it done

The race winner said: This was an incredible race for us We made the right call to pit It was intelligent And extremely pleased to win here and remain competitive to the head, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

The crucial title decider at the Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not produce the most exciting competition, but once again this twilight race hosts an contest 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 twenty-twenty-one