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

It was a costly decision that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and in hindsight cost the race win for the Australian driver

Race Results and Championship Consequences

The race winner won to take his 7th victory of the campaign, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

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

The championship leader has been left with a twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who moved ahead of his teammate 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 Abu Dhabi if Verstappen wins the race next race day

Key Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• The team's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was deployed on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch the leader came to nothing
• A unexpected podium finish for the Williams driver handed by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way The British Team Missed Out in The Race

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

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

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

With the tire manufacturer imposing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tyres, that signified anyone who made a stop at that moment was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and After the Event Statements

No words

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

Verstappen said: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to box That proved intelligent And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, incredible

Ultimate Grand Prix Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The all-important championship finale at the Yas Marina This venue does not produce the most exciting racing, but yet again this evening event features an event which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in 2021