🔗 Share this article

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

This proved to be a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively cost the race win for Piastri

Grand Prix Outcome and Title Implications

Verstappen triumphed to take his seventh win of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was runner-up and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver won himself an extra two points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

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

To secure the title, the British driver must finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Key Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• McLaren's choice not to stop when a yellow flag was deployed on lap seven for a crash between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision led by the Australian to bring forward his final stop in a desperate attempt to challenge Verstappen came to nothing
• A unexpected podium finish for the Williams driver gifted by the team's tactical decision

How The British Team Lost Out in Qatar

The critical moment for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the German tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One 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 meant there were 50 laps remaining in the race

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that moment was committed to a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Competitor Reactions and Post-Race Comments

Speechless

The McLaren driver added in his after-race interview: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the best race I could, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my best but didn't get it done

Verstappen said: This was an amazing performance for us Our team executed the correct decision to box It was smart Furthermore super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the head, remarkable

Final Race Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting racing, but yet again this twilight race features an event which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's much-debated initial championship in 2021