🔗 Share this article

The championship contender benefited from a strategy call from the British team that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car period

This proved to be a costly decision that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively cost the race win for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Results and Title Consequences

The race winner won to take his seventh win of the campaign, equalling 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 additional points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

Norris has been left with a 12-point advantage over Verstappen, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To win the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next Sunday

Key Events of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• The team's decision not to pit when a yellow flag was called on lap seven for a crash between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by Piastri to advance 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 tactical decision

How McLaren Lost Out in The Race

The fateful moment for the team was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Frenchman around the exterior of the first corner on lap seven

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

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

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that signified anyone who made a stop at that moment was committed to a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Responses and After the Event Statements

No words

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

The race winner stated: This was an amazing performance for us We made the correct decision to pit That proved intelligent And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the end, incredible

Final Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

The crucial championship finale at the Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not create the most exciting racing, but yet again this twilight race features an event which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one