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The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car period

This proved to be a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for Piastri

Race Outcome and Championship Implications

Verstappen won to take his 7th win of the season, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was second and the Briton fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

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

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

To win the title, the British driver must finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next Sunday

Critical Moments of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• McLaren's decision not to pit when a safety car was deployed on lap seven for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by Piastri to bring forward his final stop in a last-ditch effort to catch Verstappen came to nothing
• A surprise podium finish for Sainz handed by McLaren's strategy call

How McLaren Lost Out in The Race

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

The German's car was damaged beside the track This triggered the safety car

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

With Pirelli imposing a 25-lap safety limit on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was committed to a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Reactions and After the Event Statements

No words

The McLaren driver commented in his after-race interview: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as quick as I could, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen stated: That represented an incredible race for us We made the right call to pit It was smart And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Positions

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial championship finale at the Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not create the most exciting racing, but once again this twilight race features an contest which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or Verstappen's much-debated first title in twenty-twenty-one