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Verstappen capitalized on a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car deployment

This proved to be a costly decision that gave up track position to Verstappen in the final stages and in hindsight threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Race Results and Title Consequences

The race winner won to take his 7th victory of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the Briton fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver won himself an extra two points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

The championship leader has been maintained a 12-point lead over his rival, 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 finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next race day

Critical Events of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• McLaren's decision not to pit when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a crash between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by Piastri to bring forward his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge Verstappen came to nothing
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call

The Way McLaren Missed Out in Qatar

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

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

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

With the tire manufacturer imposing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who pitted at that moment was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Reactions and After the Event Comments

Speechless

Piastri added in his after-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight I drove the strongest performance I could, as fast as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my utmost but didn't get it done

Verstappen stated: This was an amazing performance for us We made the correct decision to pit That proved smart And extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The all-important title decider at the Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not create the most exciting competition, but once again this evening event features an event which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or Verstappen's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one