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Verstappen benefited from a strategy call from the British team that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car period

It was a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and in hindsight threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Race Results and Title Consequences

Verstappen won to take his seventh victory of the season, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

Norris earned an additional points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

The championship leader has been maintained a 12-point advantage over Verstappen, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To win the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if Verstappen wins the race next race day

Key Moments of the Dramatic Race

• McLaren's decision not to pit when a safety car was deployed on the seventh lap for a crash between Alpine's Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by Piastri to bring forward his final stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge the leader came to nothing
• A surprise podium finish for the Williams driver handed by the team's tactical decision

The Way The British Team Lost Out in Qatar

The critical point for McLaren was when the two drivers collided as the German tried to pass the Gasly around the outside of Turn One on the seventh lap

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

The critical part of the timing was that it left exactly 50 laps remaining in the grand prix

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

Competitor Responses and After the Event Comments

Speechless

The McLaren driver commented in his post-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as quick as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen stated: This was an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to box That proved intelligent Furthermore extremely pleased to win here and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Final Race Positions

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

What's Next?

The crucial championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina This venue does not produce the most exciting competition, but once again this evening event features an contest which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one