🔗 Share this article

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

It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to Verstappen in the final stages and retrospectively threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Championship Implications

The race winner triumphed to take his seventh win of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

Norris earned an extra two points by passing the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the penultimate 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 championship, the British driver must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen takes victory next race day

Key Moments of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• McLaren's decision not to stop when a safety car was deployed on lap seven for a collision between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by Piastri to bring forward his final stop in a desperate attempt to catch Verstappen came to nothing
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver handed by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

The fateful point for the team was when the two drivers collided as the German tried to overtake the Gasly around the exterior of the first corner on the seventh lap

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

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

With the tire manufacturer imposing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tires, that signified anyone who pitted at that time was locked into a rigid strategy with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Reactions and Post-Race Comments

No words

Piastri 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 Attempted my best but couldn't secure victory

The race winner said: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the correct decision to box That proved smart And super-happy to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the head, incredible

Ultimate Grand Prix Positions

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

What's Next?

The all-important title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not create the most exciting competition, but yet again this evening event hosts an event which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Vettel's first title in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one