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The championship contender capitalized on a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an early race safety car period

This proved to be a expensive choice that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and in hindsight threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Race Results and Championship Consequences

The race winner won to take his 7th victory of the season, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was runner-up and the British driver fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver earned an extra two points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

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

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

Key Events of the Thrilling Race

• The team's decision not to pit when a safety car was called on the seventh lap for a crash between Alpine's Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by the Australian to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for Sainz handed by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way The British Team Missed Out in The Race

The fateful moment for the team was when the two drivers came together as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Frenchman around the outside of Turn One on lap seven

Hulkenberg's car was left damaged beside the circuit That brought out the yellow flag

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

With Pirelli imposing a 25-lap safety limit on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Reactions and After the Event Comments

No words

Piastri added in his after-race conversation: 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 best but didn't get it done

The race winner 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 remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Positions

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

What's Next?

The crucial title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not create the most exciting racing, but once again this twilight race 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