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Verstappen benefited from a tactical decision from the British team that flew in the face of 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 closing laps and retrospectively cost the victory for Piastri

Grand Prix Outcome and Title Consequences

The race winner won to take his seventh win of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the Briton fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

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

Norris has been maintained a twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who moved ahead of his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on 5-7 December

To secure the title, the British driver must secure a podium position at Yas Marina if Verstappen wins the race next race day

Critical Moments of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• The team's decision not to stop when a safety car was deployed on lap seven for a collision between the French team's Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by the Australian to advance his final stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge the leader proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver handed by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Lost Out in The Race

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

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

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

With Pirelli imposing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that moment was committed to a rigid strategy with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and After the Event Comments

No words

Piastri added in his after-race conversation: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight I drove the strongest performance I could, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Tried my utmost but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the correct decision to box That proved intelligent And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the head, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Positions

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not create the most thrilling competition, but yet again this evening event hosts an contest which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Vettel's first title in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021