🔗 Share this article

The championship contender capitalized on a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an early race safety car deployment

It was a costly decision that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the final stages and retrospectively threw away the race win for Piastri

Race Outcome and Title Consequences

The race winner won to take his seventh win of the season, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was runner-up and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver earned an extra two points by passing the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

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

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

Critical Events of the Thrilling Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a safety car was called on lap seven for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision led by Piastri to advance his final stop in a last-ditch effort to catch Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for Sainz handed by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way The British Team Lost Out in Qatar

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

Hulkenberg's car was left damaged beside the track This triggered the yellow flag

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

With Pirelli imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that signified anyone who made a stop at that time was locked into a rigid strategy with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Reactions and Post-Race Statements

No words

Piastri added in his post-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I was capable of, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Tried my best but didn't get it done

The race winner stated: That represented an amazing performance for us We made the correct decision to box That proved intelligent And super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not create the most exciting racing, but yet again this twilight race hosts an contest which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's first title in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in 2021