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The championship contender capitalized on a tactical decision from the British team that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car deployment

This proved to be a expensive choice that gave up track position to Verstappen in the final stages and in hindsight threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Outcome and Title Consequences

The race winner triumphed to take his seventh victory of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver earned an additional points by passing the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

Norris has been left with a 12-point lead over his rival, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

To win the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen wins the race next Sunday

Key Moments of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• McLaren's decision not to stop when a safety car was deployed on the seventh lap for a crash between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision led by Piastri to advance his final stop in a desperate attempt to challenge Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for Sainz handed by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way The British Team Missed Out in Qatar

The critical point for the team was when the two drivers came together as the German tried to overtake the Frenchman around the outside of the first corner on lap seven

The German's car was damaged beside the circuit That brought out the safety car

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

With Pirelli enforcing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that moment was committed to a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and Post-Race Comments

No words

The McLaren driver commented in his after-race interview: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the best race I was capable of, as quick as I could, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my best but couldn't secure victory

The race winner stated: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to box That proved smart Furthermore super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the head, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting racing, but yet again this evening event features an event which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in twenty-twenty-one