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The championship contender benefited from a strategy call from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car period

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

Race Results and Title Consequences

Verstappen triumphed to take his seventh win of the season, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

Norris won himself an additional points by passing the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

Norris 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 win the title, the British driver must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if his rival wins the race next Sunday

Critical Moments of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• The team's decision not to pit when a yellow flag was deployed on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by Piastri to advance his final stop in a desperate attempt to catch Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for Sainz handed by McLaren's strategy call

The Way McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

The critical point for the team was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Frenchman around the exterior of Turn One on the seventh lap

Hulkenberg's car was left damaged beside the circuit That brought out the safety car

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

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tyres, that signified anyone who made a stop at that moment was locked into a rigid strategy with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and After the Event Statements

No words

The McLaren driver commented in his post-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight I drove the best race I could, as quick as I could, but there was no more pace out there Tried my best but didn't get it done

The race winner said: This was an incredible race for us Our team executed the correct decision to pit That proved smart And super-happy to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, incredible

Final Grand Prix Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The all-important title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not produce the most exciting racing, but once again this evening event features an event which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's first title in 2010, or Verstappen's highly controversial first title in twenty-twenty-one