🔗 Share this article

The championship contender capitalized on a tactical decision from McLaren 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 sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Outcome and Title Implications

Verstappen won to take his 7th win of the season, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver won himself an additional points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

Norris has been maintained a 12-point lead over his rival, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on 5-7 December

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

Critical Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• McLaren's choice not to stop when a safety car was called on lap seven for a collision between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by the Australian to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch the leader came to nothing
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver handed by the team's strategy call

How McLaren Missed Out in Qatar

The fateful point for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Frenchman around the exterior of Turn One on lap seven

Hulkenberg's car was damaged beside the circuit That brought out 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 imposing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tyres, that signified anyone who pitted at that time was committed to a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and Post-Race Comments

No words

Piastri added in his after-race interview: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the best race I could, as fast as I could, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my utmost but didn't get it done

Verstappen stated: That represented an incredible race for us We made the right call to box It was smart Furthermore extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, incredible

Ultimate Race Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not create the most thrilling racing, but yet again this twilight race features an event which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021