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The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from the British team 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 final stages and retrospectively cost the race win for Piastri

Race Results and Title Consequences

The race winner won to take his 7th win of the campaign, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was second and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver earned an additional points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

The championship leader has been left with a 12-point lead over Verstappen, who moved ahead of his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on 5-7 December

To win the title, the British driver must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Key Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's decision not to pit when a yellow flag was called on lap seven for a crash between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by Piastri to bring forward his final stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A surprise podium finish for the Williams driver handed by the team's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Lost Out in The Race

The fateful point for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the outside of the first corner on lap seven

Hulkenberg's car was damaged beside the track 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 Pirelli imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tyres, that signified anyone who made a stop at that time was locked into a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Responses and Post-Race Comments

Speechless

The McLaren driver commented in his after-race interview: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was 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 said: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to pit It was intelligent Furthermore extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, incredible

Final Race Positions

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

What's Next?

The all-important title decider at the Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not create the most exciting racing, but once again this evening event features an contest which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or Verstappen's much-debated first title in 2021