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Verstappen benefited from a strategy call from the British team that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car period

It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and retrospectively threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Race Results and Title Implications

Verstappen won to take his 7th victory of the season, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

Norris earned an additional points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

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

To win the title, the British driver must secure a podium position at Yas Marina if Verstappen takes victory next race day

Critical Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's decision not to stop when a safety car was deployed on the seventh lap for a crash between Alpine's Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by the Australian to bring forward his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected podium finish for the Williams driver gifted by the team's tactical decision

How The British Team Lost Out in Qatar

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

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

The crucial part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps left in the race

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tyres, that signified anyone who pitted at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Responses and Post-Race Statements

No words

The McLaren driver commented in his post-race interview: Clearly we made mistakes tonight I drove the strongest performance I could, as quick as I could, but there was no more pace out there Tried my best but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: This was an amazing performance for us Our team executed the correct decision to box That proved intelligent And super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the head, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Positions

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not produce the most thrilling competition, but yet again this twilight race features an event which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Vettel's first title in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated first title in twenty-twenty-one