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Verstappen capitalized on a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an early race safety car period

This proved to be a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the final stages and in hindsight threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Title Consequences

Verstappen won to take his seventh victory of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver won himself an extra two points by passing the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

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

To win the title, the British driver must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Key Events of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• The team's decision not to stop when a yellow flag was called on lap seven for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by the Australian to bring forward his final stop in a desperate attempt to challenge Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver gifted by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

The critical moment for the team was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One on the seventh lap

Hulkenberg's car was damaged beside the circuit That brought out the yellow flag

The crucial part of the timing was that it left exactly 50 laps left in the race

With Pirelli imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that moment was committed to a rigid strategy with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Reactions and After the Event Statements

No words

The McLaren driver commented in his after-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I was capable of, as quick 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 incredible race for us We made the right call to box That proved intelligent And extremely pleased to win here and remain competitive to the head, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Positions

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

What's Next?

The all-important title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not produce the most exciting racing, but once again this twilight race hosts an contest which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's much-debated first title in twenty-twenty-one