Lando Norris, Red Bull's Verstappen and McLaren's Piastri will contest a final-race championship clash in Yas Marina after the Dutch driver won a gripping Qatar GP
The championship contender capitalized on a tactical decision from the British team that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car deployment
This proved to be a costly decision that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the victory for the Australian driver
Race Outcome and Championship Implications
Verstappen won to take his 7th win of the season, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver
The McLaren driver won himself an additional points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap
Norris has been maintained a 12-point lead over Verstappen, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7
To secure the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen wins the race next race day
Critical Moments of the Dramatic Race
- McLaren's choice not to stop when a safety car was called on the seventh lap for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
- A decision initiated by the Australian to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch the leader proved unsuccessful
- A surprise second podium for Sainz gifted by McLaren's strategy call
The Way The British Team Lost Out in The Race
The critical point for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Gasly around the exterior of the first corner on the seventh lap
Hulkenberg's car was damaged beside the track This triggered the safety car
The crucial part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps remaining in the grand prix
With the tire manufacturer imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that signified anyone who pitted at that time was committed to a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on lap 32
Driver Reactions and After the Event Statements
Speechless
Piastri added in his after-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the best race I could, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Tried my utmost but didn't get it done
The race winner said: This was an incredible race for us We made the right call to pit It was intelligent And super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the head, incredible
Final Grand Prix Positions
- 1. Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 2. Piastri (McLaren Racing)
- 3. Carlos Sainz (Williams Racing)
- 4. Lando Norris (McLaren Racing)
- 5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- 6. George Russell (Mercedes)
- 7. Alonso (Aston Martin)
- 8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 9. Liam Lawson (RB F1 Team)
- 10. Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing)
Looking Ahead
The all-important title decider at the Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not create the most exciting racing, but once again this twilight race features an event which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021
