🔗 Share this article

The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by all other squads 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 closing laps and in hindsight threw away the race win for Piastri

Grand Prix Results and Championship Consequences

Verstappen won to take his 7th 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 won himself an additional points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the penultimate 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 title, Norris must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival wins the race next Sunday

Key Moments of the Dramatic Race

• The team's decision not to stop when a yellow flag 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 final stop in a desperate attempt to challenge Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver gifted by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

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

The German's car was damaged beside the track This triggered the yellow flag

The crucial part of the timing was that it left exactly 50 laps left in the race

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tyres, that signified anyone who made a stop at that moment was locked into a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Responses and After the Event Comments

Speechless

Piastri added in his after-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the best race I was capable of, as fast as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but couldn't secure victory

The race winner stated: That represented an incredible race for us We made the right call to pit That proved smart Furthermore super-happy to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Positions

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial title decider at the Yas Marina This venue does not create the most thrilling racing, but yet again this twilight race hosts an event which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one