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The championship contender capitalized on a strategy call from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an initial 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 the Australian driver

Race Results and Championship Consequences

Verstappen won to take his 7th victory of the campaign, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was runner-up and the British driver fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

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

The championship leader has been maintained a twelve point lead over his rival, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To win the championship, Norris must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen takes victory next race day

Critical Moments of the Dramatic Race

• McLaren's decision not to stop when a safety car was called on the seventh lap for a collision between the French team's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A decision led by Piastri to bring forward his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to challenge Verstappen came to nothing
• A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver handed by the team's strategy call

The Way The British Team Lost Out in The Race

The critical moment for McLaren was when the two drivers collided as the German tried to overtake the Frenchman around the exterior of the first corner on lap seven

The German's car was damaged beside the circuit That brought out the safety car

The critical part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps left in the race

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that moment was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Reactions and After the Event Comments

Speechless

The McLaren driver added in his post-race interview: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I was capable of, as quick as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Tried my utmost but didn't get it done

The race winner stated: This was an incredible race for us We made the correct decision to pit That proved smart Furthermore super-happy to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the head, incredible

Final Race Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The all-important title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not create the most thrilling competition, but once again this twilight race hosts an event which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one