🔗 Share this article

The championship contender benefited from a strategy call from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car period

This proved to be a expensive choice that gave up track position to Verstappen in the final stages and in hindsight cost the race win for Piastri

Grand Prix Results and Championship Consequences

The race winner triumphed to take his seventh victory 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 additional points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

The championship leader has been maintained a twelve point lead over Verstappen, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

To secure the title, Norris must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen wins the race next Sunday

Key Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• The team's choice not to stop when a safety car was deployed on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by Piastri to advance his final stop in a last-ditch effort to catch the leader proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for Sainz gifted by McLaren's strategy call

How The British Team Lost Out in The Race

The fateful moment for the team was when the two drivers came together as the German tried to pass the Frenchman around the outside of the first corner on lap seven

The German's car was left damaged beside the circuit That brought out the yellow flag

The critical part of the timing was that it left exactly 50 laps remaining in the race

With the tire manufacturer imposing a 25-lap safety limit on the tyres, that signified anyone who made a stop at that moment was locked into a rigid strategy with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and Post-Race Comments

No words

The McLaren driver added in his post-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as quick as I could, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my utmost but didn't get it done

Verstappen stated: This was an incredible race for us We made the correct decision to box That proved smart And super-happy to win here and stay in the fight to the end, incredible

Ultimate Race Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting competition, but yet again this evening event hosts an event which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated first title in 2021