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Verstappen capitalized on a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car deployment

It was a costly decision that sacrificed track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Title Consequences

Verstappen triumphed to take his seventh victory of the campaign, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was runner-up and the British driver fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

Norris won himself an additional points by passing the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

Norris has been left with a 12-point lead over his rival, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on 5-7 December

To secure the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Critical Events of the Thrilling Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a safety car was called on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to challenge the leader proved unsuccessful
• A surprise podium finish for Sainz handed by McLaren's strategy call

The Way McLaren Missed Out in The Race

The critical moment for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the German tried to pass the Gasly around the outside of Turn One on lap seven

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

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

With Pirelli imposing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tyres, 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 Reactions and After the Event Statements

Speechless

The McLaren driver commented in his after-race interview: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight I drove the strongest performance I was capable of, as fast as I could, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my best but couldn't secure victory

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

Final Grand Prix Positions

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina This venue does not produce the most thrilling racing, but yet again this evening event hosts an contest which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's highly controversial initial championship in twenty-twenty-one