🔗 Share this article

Verstappen benefited from a tactical decision from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car deployment

This proved to be a costly decision that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively cost the victory for the Australian driver

Race Results and Championship Consequences

The race winner triumphed to take his seventh win of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was runner-up and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

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

The championship leader has been maintained a 12-point advantage over his rival, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To win the championship, the British driver must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen takes victory next Sunday

Critical Events of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• McLaren's decision not to pit when a yellow flag was called on lap seven for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision led by the Australian to advance his final stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call

How The British Team Missed Out in Qatar

The fateful moment for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of the first corner on lap seven

The German's car was left damaged beside the track This triggered the safety car

The critical part of the timing was that it left exactly 50 laps remaining in the race

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was committed to a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and Post-Race Comments

Speechless

The McLaren driver added in his after-race conversation: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight I drove the strongest performance I was capable of, as fast as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my best but couldn't secure victory

The race winner stated: This was an amazing performance for us We made the right call to pit That proved intelligent And extremely pleased to win here and remain competitive to the head, incredible

Ultimate Grand Prix Positions

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial championship finale at the Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not create the most thrilling racing, but once again this twilight race features an contest which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's first title in 2010, or Verstappen's highly controversial initial championship in 2021