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The championship contender benefited from a strategy call from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by every other team during an initial 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 race win for Piastri

Race Results and Championship Implications

The race winner won to take his seventh victory of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

Norris won himself an extra two points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

Norris has been left with a 12-point advantage over his rival, who moved ahead of his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To win the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if his rival wins the race next Sunday

Critical Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• McLaren's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was deployed on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by the Australian to bring forward his final stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's tactical decision

How The British Team Missed Out in The Race

The fateful moment for McLaren was when the two drivers came together as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One on lap seven

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

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

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tires, that meant anyone who made a stop at that moment was committed to a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Reactions and After the Event Comments

No words

The McLaren driver commented in his after-race conversation: Obviously we didn't get it right tonight My driving was the best race I was capable of, as fast as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but didn't get it done

The race winner stated: This was an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to box That proved smart And super-happy to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the end, incredible

Final Race Positions

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

Looking Ahead

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting competition, but yet again this twilight race hosts an contest which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Vettel's first title in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one