🔗 Share this article

The championship contender benefited from a strategy call from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car period

It was a costly decision that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Results and Championship Implications

The race winner triumphed to take his 7th victory of the campaign, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver won himself 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 advantage over his rival, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

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

Key Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was deployed on the seventh lap for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by the Australian to advance his final stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for Sainz handed by the team's tactical decision

How The British Team Missed Out in The Race

The critical point for the team was when the two drivers came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Frenchman around the exterior of the first corner on the seventh lap

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

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

With Pirelli 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 second stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and Post-Race Statements

Speechless

Piastri added in his after-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the best race I was capable of, as fast as I could, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my utmost but couldn't secure victory

The race winner stated: This was an amazing performance for us We made the right call to box It was smart And super-happy to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Ultimate Race Positions

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

What's Next?

The crucial title decider at the Yas Marina This venue does not create the most exciting competition, but yet again this twilight race hosts an contest which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated first title in 2021