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The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from McLaren 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 the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Championship Consequences

The race winner won to take his 7th victory of the season, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was second and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver earned an additional points by passing the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

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

To win the championship, the British driver must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen takes victory next race day

Key Events of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• McLaren's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was deployed on lap seven for a collision between the French team's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by the Australian to bring forward his final stop in a desperate attempt to challenge the leader proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for Sainz handed by McLaren's strategy call

The Way McLaren Missed Out in The Race

The fateful moment for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together 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 track This triggered the yellow flag

The critical part of the timing was that it left exactly 50 laps remaining in the grand prix

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tires, that signified anyone who pitted at that moment was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Competitor Reactions and Post-Race Statements

No words

Piastri added in his after-race interview: Obviously we didn't get it right tonight I drove the best race I was capable of, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my best but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: This was an incredible race for us We made the right call to pit That proved intelligent And super-happy to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Positions

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at the Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not produce the most exciting competition, 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