🔗 Share this article

Verstappen 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

This proved to be a costly decision that gave up track position to Verstappen in the final stages and retrospectively threw away the victory for Piastri

Grand Prix Results and Championship Consequences

Verstappen triumphed to take his 7th win of the season, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was runner-up and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

Norris won himself an extra two points by passing the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

The championship leader has been left with a twelve point lead over Verstappen, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To secure the championship, Norris must secure a podium position at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next race day

Critical Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• The team's decision not to stop when a safety car was called on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by the Australian to advance his final stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge the leader proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call

The Way The British Team Missed Out in Qatar

The fateful point for McLaren was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Frenchman around the exterior of Turn One on lap seven

Hulkenberg's car was damaged beside the circuit This triggered the safety car

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

With Pirelli enforcing a 25-lap safety limit on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Responses and After the Event Statements

No words

Piastri commented in his after-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight I drove the best race I could, as quick as I could, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my utmost but couldn't secure victory

The race winner stated: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to pit It was intelligent And super-happy to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the head, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

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