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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 sacrificed track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for Piastri

Race Outcome and Championship Implications

Verstappen won to take his 7th victory of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was runner-up and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver won himself an additional points by passing the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

The championship leader has been maintained a 12-point advantage over Verstappen, who moved ahead of his teammate by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

To win the title, the British driver must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Key Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a safety car was deployed on lap seven for a crash between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by Piastri to advance his final stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader came to nothing
• A surprise podium finish for Sainz handed by the team's strategy call

How The British Team Missed Out in Qatar

The fateful point for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the outside of Turn One on lap seven

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

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

With the tire manufacturer imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was committed to a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Driver Responses and After the Event Comments

No words

Piastri commented in his post-race conversation: Obviously we didn't get it right tonight My driving was 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: That represented an amazing performance for us Our team executed the correct decision to pit It was intelligent And super-happy to win here and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

The crucial title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not create the most exciting competition, but once again this twilight race features an event which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021