🔗 Share this article

The championship contender benefited from a strategy call from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car deployment

This proved to be a costly decision that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for Piastri

Grand Prix Results and Title Implications

Verstappen triumphed to take his 7th win of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was second and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

Norris won himself an extra two points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

The championship leader has been maintained a twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To secure the championship, Norris must secure a podium position at Yas Marina if his rival takes victory next race day

Key Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's decision not to pit when a yellow flag was called on lap seven for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call

The Way McLaren Missed Out in Qatar

The fateful point for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the German tried to overtake the Frenchman around the outside of the first corner on lap seven

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

The crucial part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps remaining in the grand prix

With the tire manufacturer imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that moment was locked into a rigid strategy with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Reactions and Post-Race Comments

No words

The McLaren driver commented in his post-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as quick as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my best but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen stated: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the correct decision to box That proved intelligent Furthermore extremely pleased to win here and stay in the fight to the end, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting racing, but once again this evening event hosts an event which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's highly controversial initial championship in 2021