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Verstappen benefited from a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car period

This proved to be a costly decision that sacrificed track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for Piastri

Race Results and Championship Consequences

The race winner won to take his seventh victory of the campaign, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was second and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

Norris won himself an extra two points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

The championship leader has been maintained a twelve point lead over Verstappen, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on 5-7 December

To win the title, the British driver must finish at least third at Yas Marina if Verstappen takes victory next race day

Critical Events of the Thrilling Race

• McLaren's decision not to stop when a safety car was called on the seventh lap for a crash between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by the Australian to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch Verstappen came to nothing
• A surprise podium finish for Sainz handed by the team's tactical decision

How The British Team Missed Out in Qatar

The critical point for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Frenchman around the outside of Turn One on the seventh lap

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

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

With Pirelli imposing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that moment was locked into a rigid strategy with a second stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and Post-Race Statements

Speechless

The McLaren driver commented in his post-race interview: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the best race I could, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my best but couldn't secure victory

The race winner said: This was an amazing performance for us We made the correct decision to pit It was intelligent And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the end, incredible

Final Race Positions

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

What's Next?

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