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Verstappen benefited from a strategy call from the British team that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car deployment

It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and retrospectively cost the victory for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Results and Championship Consequences

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

Norris earned an extra two points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

Norris has been left with a 12-point lead over Verstappen, who moved ahead of his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To win the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Key Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• The team's choice not to stop when a safety car was called on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by the Australian to advance his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch Verstappen came to nothing
• A unexpected second podium for Sainz gifted by McLaren's strategy call

How The British Team Lost Out in Qatar

The critical point for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Frenchman around the exterior of the first corner on lap seven

The German's car was damaged beside the circuit That brought out the safety car

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

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who pitted at that moment was locked into a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Responses and After the Event Statements

No words

The McLaren driver added in his after-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight I drove the best race I was capable of, as quick as I could, but there was nothing left out there Tried my best but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: This was an amazing performance for us We made the right call to box That proved smart And super-happy to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the head, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Positions

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

What's Next?

The crucial title decider at the Yas Marina This venue does not produce the most exciting competition, but once again this twilight race features an contest which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's much-debated first title in twenty-twenty-one