🔗 Share this article

The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car deployment

It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and retrospectively threw away the victory for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Results and Championship Implications

Verstappen won to take his seventh victory of the campaign, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver earned an additional points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

Norris has been left with a twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who moved ahead of his teammate by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

To win the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Key Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's decision 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 strategy initiated by Piastri to bring forward his final stop in a desperate attempt to challenge the leader proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected podium finish for the Williams driver gifted by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Lost Out in The Race

The critical moment for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the German tried to pass the Gasly around the outside of Turn One on the seventh lap

The German's car was damaged beside the track This triggered the safety car

The critical part of the timing was that it left exactly 50 laps left in the grand prix

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was committed to a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and Post-Race Comments

No words

The McLaren driver added in his post-race interview: Obviously we didn't get it right tonight I drove the strongest performance I was capable of, as quick as I could, but there was nothing left out there Tried my best but didn't get it done

The race winner stated: This was an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to box It was intelligent And super-happy to win here and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Positions

• 1. Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2. Piastri (McLaren)
• 3. Sainz (Williams)
• 4. Norris (McLaren Racing)
• 5. Antonelli (Mercedes)
• 6. George Russell (Mercedes)
• 7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin F1)
• 8. Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari)
• 9. Lawson (RB F1 Team)
• 10. Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing)

Looking Ahead

The all-important championship finale at the Yas Marina The circuit itself does not create the most exciting competition, but yet again this evening event features an event which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Vettel's first title in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in 2021