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Verstappen benefited from a strategy call from the British team that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car period

It was a costly decision that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for Piastri

Race Results and Title Implications

Verstappen triumphed to take his 7th win of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was second and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

Norris 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 Verstappen, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To win the championship, the British driver must secure a podium position at Yas Marina if Verstappen wins the race next Sunday

Key Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• McLaren's decision not to pit when a safety car was deployed on lap seven for a crash between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by Piastri to advance his final stop in a last-ditch effort to catch the leader came to nothing
• A unexpected podium finish for the Williams driver gifted by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Lost Out in Qatar

The fateful moment for the team was when the two drivers 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 That brought out the safety car

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

With Pirelli imposing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was committed to a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Reactions and After the Event Comments

Speechless

The McLaren driver commented in his after-race interview: Obviously we didn't get it right tonight I drove the best race I was capable of, as quick as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my best but didn't get it done

Verstappen said: This was an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to box That proved smart Furthermore super-happy to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the head, remarkable

Final Race Positions

• 1. Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2. Piastri (McLaren)
• 3. Sainz (Williams Racing)
• 4. Norris (McLaren)
• 5. Antonelli (Mercedes-AMG)
• 6. George Russell (Mercedes)
• 7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin F1)
• 8. Leclerc (Ferrari)
• 9. Lawson (Racing Bulls)
• 10. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at the Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting competition, but once again this twilight race features an event which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one