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The championship contender capitalized on a tactical decision from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car deployment

It was a costly decision that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and in hindsight threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Results and Title Consequences

Verstappen won to take his seventh victory of the season, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was runner-up and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

Norris earned an additional points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

The championship leader has been left with a 12-point lead over his rival, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on 5-7 December

To secure the title, the British driver must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival takes victory next race day

Critical Events of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• McLaren's choice not to stop when a safety car was deployed on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by the Australian to bring forward his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge the leader proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected podium finish for the Williams driver gifted by McLaren's strategy call

How McLaren Missed Out in The Race

The fateful point for McLaren was when the two drivers came together as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Gasly around the outside of Turn One on lap seven

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

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

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a 25-lap safety limit on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Reactions and After the Event Comments

Speechless

Piastri commented in his after-race interview: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as fast as I could, 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 right call to pit That proved smart And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the end, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial championship finale at the Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting racing, but yet again this twilight race hosts an event which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in 2021