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Verstappen benefited from a strategy call 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 costly decision that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and in hindsight cost the victory for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Championship Consequences

Verstappen won to take his seventh win of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

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

Norris has been left with a twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on 5-7 December

To secure the title, Norris must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival wins the race next race day

Critical Events of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• The team's decision not to stop when a safety car was deployed on lap seven for a crash between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by the Australian 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 the team's strategy call

How The British Team Missed Out in The Race

The fateful point for the team was when the two drivers came together as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Frenchman around the exterior of Turn One on lap seven

Hulkenberg's car was damaged beside the track That brought out the yellow flag

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

With the tire manufacturer imposing a 25-lap maximum usage on the tyres, that signified anyone who pitted at that moment was committed to a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and Post-Race Comments

No words

The McLaren driver commented in his after-race conversation: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as fast as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my best but didn't get it done

The race winner said: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to box It was intelligent Furthermore super-happy to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Standings

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

What's Next?

The crucial championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting racing, but yet again this evening event hosts an contest which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Vettel's first title in 2010, or Verstappen's much-debated initial championship in twenty-twenty-one