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Verstappen benefited from 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 costly decision that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and in hindsight threw away the race win for Piastri

Grand Prix Outcome and Championship Implications

Verstappen won to take his seventh win of the campaign, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver earned an additional points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

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

To win the championship, the British driver must secure a podium position at Yas Marina if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Critical Moments of the Dramatic Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a safety car was deployed on lap seven for a collision between the French team's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision led by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch Verstappen came to nothing
• A surprise podium finish for the Williams driver handed by McLaren's tactical decision

How McLaren Missed Out in Qatar

The critical moment for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Gasly around the outside of Turn One on lap seven

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

The crucial part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps left in the grand prix

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tyres, that signified anyone who pitted at that time was committed to a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Competitor Reactions and After the Event Statements

Speechless

Piastri added in his post-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as fast as I could, but there was nothing left out there Tried my utmost but didn't get it done

The race winner said: That represented an amazing performance for us We made the correct decision to box It was intelligent Furthermore super-happy to win here and stay in the fight to the end, incredible

Ultimate Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

The crucial championship finale at the Yas Marina This venue does not create the most thrilling competition, but yet again this evening event features an contest which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's highly controversial first title in 2021