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The championship contender capitalized on a strategy call from the British team that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car period

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

Race Results and Title Consequences

The race winner triumphed to take his 7th win of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was runner-up and the Briton fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

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

The championship leader has been left with a 12-point lead over Verstappen, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

To secure the championship, Norris must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen takes victory next Sunday

Critical Events of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• McLaren's decision not to stop when a safety car was deployed on the seventh lap for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision led by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader came to nothing
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call

The Way McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

The critical point for McLaren was when the two drivers came together as the German tried to pass the Frenchman around the outside of the first corner on lap seven

The German's car was left damaged beside the track This triggered the safety car

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

With Pirelli enforcing a 25-lap safety limit on the tyres, that signified anyone who pitted at that moment was committed to a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Reactions and Post-Race Comments

No words

The McLaren driver added in his post-race conversation: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight I drove the strongest performance I was capable of, as quick as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my best but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: This was an incredible race for us Our team executed the correct decision to pit That proved intelligent And extremely pleased to win here and remain competitive to the end, incredible

Final Race Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina This venue does not create the most thrilling racing, but once again this twilight race features an contest which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's first title in 2010, or Verstappen's much-debated first title in 2021