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The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from the British team that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car deployment

This proved to be a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and retrospectively threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Title Consequences

Verstappen won to take his 7th victory of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was second and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

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

Norris has been maintained a 12-point advantage over Verstappen, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To win the championship, Norris must secure a podium position at Yas Marina if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Key Moments of the Dramatic Race

• The team's decision not to stop when a safety car was called on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch the leader came to nothing
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call

How The British Team Missed Out in The Race

The fateful moment for McLaren was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One on the seventh lap

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

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

With the tire manufacturer imposing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tyres, that signified anyone who pitted at that time was committed to a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and After the Event Statements

Speechless

Piastri commented in his post-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 nothing left out there Attempted my best but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: This was an amazing performance for us We made the correct decision to pit That proved smart And super-happy to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not produce the most exciting competition, but once again this twilight race hosts an contest which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's much-debated first title in twenty-twenty-one