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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

This proved to be a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and in hindsight threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Championship Consequences

Verstappen triumphed to take his 7th victory of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was second and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

Norris earned an extra two points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

Norris has been left with a twelve point advantage over his rival, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To secure the championship, the British driver must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Key Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a safety car was called on the seventh lap for a collision between the French team's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by Piastri to bring forward his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to challenge Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A surprise podium finish for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call

How McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

The critical moment for McLaren was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One 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 grand prix

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

Competitor Responses and Post-Race Comments

Speechless

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

Verstappen stated: That represented an incredible race for us We made the right call to box That proved smart And super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the end, incredible

Ultimate Race Standings

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

What's Next?

The crucial championship finale at the Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting competition, but yet again this evening event hosts an contest which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one