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Verstappen benefited from a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car deployment

It was a costly decision that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and in hindsight cost the race win for the Australian driver

Race Results and Championship Consequences

The race winner triumphed to take his seventh victory of the campaign, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver won himself an extra two points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

Norris has been left with a 12-point advantage over his rival, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To secure the championship, the British driver must finish at least third 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 crash between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by the Australian to bring forward his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch Verstappen came to nothing
• A unexpected podium finish for the Williams driver handed by McLaren'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 Gasly around the exterior of Turn One 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 remaining in the grand prix

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was committed to a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Reactions and After the Event Statements

No words

The McLaren driver added in his post-race interview: Clearly we made mistakes tonight I drove the best race I could, as quick as I could, but there was no more pace out there Tried my best but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the correct decision to box It was smart Furthermore extremely pleased to win here and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Final Race Positions

• 1. Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
• 2. Piastri (McLaren)
• 3. Sainz (Williams)
• 4. Norris (McLaren)
• 5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes-AMG)
• 6. Russell (Mercedes)
• 7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin F1)
• 8. Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari)
• 9. Lawson (RB F1 Team)
• 10. Yuki 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 twilight race hosts an event which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021