🔗 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 period

It was a costly decision that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and in hindsight threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Championship Implications

The race winner won to take his seventh victory of the season, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was runner-up and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

Norris earned an extra two points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

Norris has been left with a twelve point lead over Verstappen, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To win the title, Norris must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen wins the race next race day

Key Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• McLaren's decision not to stop when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a collision between the French team's Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by Piastri to bring forward his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch the leader proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver handed by the team's strategy call

How McLaren Lost Out in The Race

The fateful moment for McLaren was when the two drivers came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Frenchman around the outside of Turn One on lap seven

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

The crucial part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps left in the race

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a 25-lap safety limit on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that moment was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Reactions and After the Event Statements

No words

Piastri added in his after-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight I drove the strongest performance I could, as quick as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my best but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: That represented an incredible race for us We made the correct decision to box It was smart And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Positions

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at the Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not create the most exciting racing, but once again this evening event features an event which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in twenty-twenty-one