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

It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Championship Implications

Verstappen won to take his 7th win of the campaign, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was runner-up and the British driver fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver earned an extra two points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

Norris has been maintained a 12-point advantage over Verstappen, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on 5-7 December

To secure the title, the British driver must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Critical Events of the Dramatic Race

• McLaren's decision not to stop when a safety car was deployed on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by the Australian to advance his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader came to nothing
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver handed by McLaren's tactical decision

How McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

The fateful point for the team was when the two drivers came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Frenchman around the outside of the first corner on lap seven

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

The crucial part of the timing was that it meant there were 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 locked into a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and After the Event Comments

Speechless

The McLaren driver commented in his post-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight I drove the best race I could, as fast as I could, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen stated: This was an amazing performance for us Our team executed the right call to box That proved smart Furthermore super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the end, incredible

Final Race Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most thrilling racing, but yet again this evening event features an contest which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or Verstappen's highly controversial initial championship in twenty-twenty-one