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The championship contender capitalized on a tactical decision from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by every other team during an early race safety car deployment

It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and in hindsight threw away the race win for Piastri

Race Outcome and Championship Implications

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

The McLaren driver won himself an additional points by passing the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

Norris has been left with 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 championship, Norris must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival wins the race next Sunday

Critical Events of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• The team's choice not to pit when a safety car was deployed on the seventh lap for a collision between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Nico 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 Sainz gifted by the team's tactical decision

The Way The British Team Missed Out in Qatar

The fateful moment for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Gasly around the outside of the first corner on the seventh lap

The German's car was left damaged beside the circuit This triggered the safety car

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

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a 25-lap safety limit on the tyres, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was locked into a rigid strategy with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Reactions and Post-Race Comments

No words

Piastri commented in his after-race interview: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I was capable of, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Tried my utmost but couldn't secure victory

The race winner said: This was an amazing performance for us Our team executed the correct decision to box It was intelligent Furthermore extremely pleased to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the end, incredible

Ultimate Race Positions

• 1. Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
• 2. Piastri (McLaren Racing)
• 3. Carlos Sainz (Williams Racing)
• 4. Norris (McLaren Racing)
• 5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes-AMG)
• 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 crucial title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most thrilling racing, but yet again this evening event features an contest which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021