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The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from the British team that contradicted decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car deployment

This proved to be a costly decision 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 Outcome and Title Consequences

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

Norris won himself an additional points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

Norris has been left with a twelve point advantage over Verstappen, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

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 Grand Prix

• The team's decision not to stop when a safety car was called on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision led by the Australian to bring forward his final stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for Sainz handed by the team's tactical decision

How The British Team Lost Out in The Race

The critical point for McLaren was when the two drivers came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Frenchman around the exterior of Turn One on the seventh lap

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

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

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tyres, that signified anyone who pitted at that moment was locked into a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and After the Event Statements

No words

The McLaren driver added in his after-race interview: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I was capable of, as quick as I could, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my best but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: This was an incredible race for us We made the right call to box That proved intelligent Furthermore super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the head, incredible

Ultimate Grand Prix Positions

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

What's Next?

The crucial championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not produce the most exciting competition, but yet again this twilight race features an event which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021