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The championship contender benefited from a strategy call from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by every other team during an early race safety car deployment

This proved to be a expensive choice that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and in hindsight cost the race win for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Outcome and Championship Implications

Verstappen triumphed to take his 7th win of the campaign, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the Briton fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

Norris earned an extra two points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

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

To secure the championship, the British driver must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival takes victory next race day

Key Moments of the Dramatic Race

• The team's decision not to stop when a yellow flag was deployed on the seventh lap for a crash between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by Piastri to bring forward his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected podium finish for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call

How McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

The critical moment for the team was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the outside of the first corner on the seventh lap

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 tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was committed to a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and After the Event Comments

No words

The McLaren driver added in his after-race conversation: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight I drove the strongest performance I was capable of, as fast as I could, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my utmost but couldn't secure victory

The race winner said: That represented an incredible race for us We made the right call to pit It was smart And super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Positions

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial title decider at the Yas Marina This venue does not produce the most exciting racing, but yet again this twilight race features an contest which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial first title in 2021