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The championship contender capitalized on a tactical decision from the British team that flew in the face of decisions made by every other team during an early race safety car deployment

This proved to be a costly decision that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and in hindsight cost the victory for Piastri

Race Results and Championship Consequences

The race winner won to take his 7th win of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was second and the Briton fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

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

Norris has been maintained a twelve point advantage over his rival, who moved ahead of his teammate by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To secure the title, the British driver must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen takes victory next race day

Critical Events of the Dramatic Race

• The team's decision not to pit when a yellow flag was called on lap seven for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by the Australian to bring forward his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader came to nothing
• A surprise podium finish for Sainz handed by the team's strategy call

How The British Team Lost Out in Qatar

The fateful moment for McLaren was when the two drivers collided as the German tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One on the seventh lap

Hulkenberg's car was damaged beside the track This triggered the yellow flag

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

With the tire manufacturer imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that meant anyone who made a stop at that moment was locked into a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and Post-Race Comments

Speechless

The McLaren driver commented in his after-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight I drove the strongest performance I could, as quick as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Tried my best but didn't get it done

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

Ultimate Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

The crucial championship finale at the Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting racing, but yet again this evening event hosts an contest which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Vettel's first title in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in twenty-twenty-one