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The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from the British team that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an early race safety car period

It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and in hindsight cost the victory for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Results and Title Implications

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

The McLaren driver won himself an additional points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

Norris has been left with a twelve point lead over Verstappen, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To secure the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next race day

Key Moments of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• The team's decision not to stop when a safety car was deployed on the seventh lap for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A decision led by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected podium finish for Sainz gifted by the team's strategy call

The Way McLaren Lost Out in The Race

The fateful moment for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the German tried to overtake the Gasly around the exterior of the first corner on the seventh lap

The German's car was left damaged beside the circuit This triggered the yellow flag

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

With the tire manufacturer imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tyres, that signified anyone who pitted at that moment was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Responses and After the Event Comments

No words

Piastri added in his post-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight I drove the best race I could, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Tried my best but didn't get it done

The race winner stated: This was an incredible race for us We made the correct decision to pit It was intelligent Furthermore extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Ultimate Race Positions

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

What's Next?

The crucial title decider at the Yas Marina This venue does not create the most thrilling racing, but yet again this evening event features an event which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or Verstappen's much-debated initial championship in 2021