🔗 Share this article

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 the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and in hindsight threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Results and Championship Implications

The race winner triumphed to take his 7th victory of the season, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was runner-up and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

Norris earned an additional points by passing the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

Norris has been left with a twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To win the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next Sunday

Critical Events of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• The team's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was called on lap seven for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision led by Piastri to bring forward his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader came to nothing
• A unexpected podium finish for the Williams driver gifted by McLaren's tactical decision

How The British Team Missed Out in Qatar

The critical moment for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Frenchman around the outside of the first corner on the seventh lap

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

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

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a 25-lap maximum usage 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 Responses and After the Event Comments

No words

Piastri added in his after-race interview: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight My driving was the best race I could, as quick as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my utmost but couldn't secure victory

The race winner said: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to pit It was smart And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Final Race Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not create the most thrilling racing, but once again this evening event features an contest which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial first title in 2021