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Verstappen 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 expensive choice that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and in hindsight threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Outcome and Championship Implications

Verstappen triumphed to take his 7th victory of the season, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was runner-up and the British driver fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

Norris won himself an extra two points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes 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 5-7 December

To secure the title, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if Verstappen wins the race next Sunday

Critical Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by Piastri to bring forward his final stop in a desperate attempt to challenge the leader proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for Sainz handed by the team's tactical decision

How The British Team Missed Out in The Race

The critical moment for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the German tried to overtake the Gasly around the outside of Turn One on lap seven

Hulkenberg's car was damaged beside the circuit This triggered the safety car

The critical part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps remaining in the race

With the tire manufacturer imposing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was committed to a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Responses and After the Event Comments

No words

The McLaren driver added in his after-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I was capable of, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my utmost but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: That represented an amazing performance for us We made the right call to pit It was intelligent And super-happy to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Ultimate Race Positions

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

What's Next?

The crucial title decider at the Yas Marina This venue does not create the most exciting racing, but once again this evening event hosts an event which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's first title in 2010, or Verstappen's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one