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

This proved to be a costly decision that sacrificed track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Outcome and Championship Consequences

Verstappen won to take his 7th win of the season, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was runner-up and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver won himself an extra two points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

Norris has been left with a 12-point lead over Verstappen, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

To win the championship, Norris must secure a podium position at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next Sunday

Critical Events of the Dramatic Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was called on lap seven for a collision between the French team's Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch Verstappen came to nothing
• A surprise podium finish for the Williams driver handed by the team's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Lost Out in The Race

The fateful moment for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of the first corner on lap seven

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

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

With the tire manufacturer imposing a 25-lap safety limit 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 the thirty-second lap

Driver Responses and After the Event Statements

Speechless

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

Verstappen stated: That represented an amazing performance for us We made the correct decision to pit It was smart And extremely pleased to win here and remain competitive to the head, incredible

Final Race Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not create the most exciting competition, but once again this evening event hosts an event which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's highly controversial initial championship in 2021