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

It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the victory for Piastri

Grand Prix Outcome and Championship Consequences

Verstappen won to take his 7th victory of the season, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was runner-up and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

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 twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To secure the title, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if Verstappen wins the race next Sunday

Key Moments of the Dramatic Race

• The team's decision not to pit when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision led by Piastri to advance his final stop in a desperate attempt to challenge Verstappen came to nothing
• A surprise podium finish for Sainz gifted by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way The British Team Missed Out in The Race

The critical moment for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the German tried to pass the Frenchman around the outside of the first corner on the seventh lap

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

The critical part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps remaining in the race

With Pirelli imposing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tires, that signified anyone who made a stop at that moment was committed to a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and After the Event Comments

Speechless

Piastri added in his after-race conversation: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight I drove the best race I could, as quick as I could, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my best but didn't get it done

The race winner stated: That represented an amazing performance for us Our team executed the right call to pit It was smart Furthermore extremely pleased to win here and remain competitive to the head, incredible

Final Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important title decider at the Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not produce the most thrilling competition, but once again this twilight race hosts an contest which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's highly controversial initial championship in 2021