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

This proved to be a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and in hindsight cost the race win for Piastri

Race Results and Title Implications

Verstappen won to take his seventh victory of the season, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was runner-up and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

Norris earned an extra two points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

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

To win the title, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if Verstappen takes victory next Sunday

Key Events of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• McLaren's choice not to stop when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a collision between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision led by Piastri to bring forward his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to challenge the leader came to nothing
• A unexpected podium finish for the Williams driver handed by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Missed Out in Qatar

The fateful moment 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 left damaged beside the track This triggered the yellow flag

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

With Pirelli enforcing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that moment was committed to a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and Post-Race Comments

No words

Piastri commented in his post-race conversation: Obviously we didn't get it right tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as quick as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my utmost but couldn't secure victory

The race winner said: This was an incredible race for us Our team executed the correct decision to pit It was smart And super-happy to triumph in Qatar and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Final Race Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not create the most thrilling racing, but yet again this evening event hosts an contest which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Vettel's first title in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial first title in 2021