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Verstappen capitalized on a strategy call from the British team that flew in the face of decisions made by every other team during an early race safety car period

It was a costly decision that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Outcome and Championship Implications

Verstappen won to take his 7th win of the season, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the Briton fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

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

Norris has been maintained a twelve point lead over his rival, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

To secure 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

• McLaren's choice not to stop when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to challenge Verstappen came to nothing
• A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver handed by the team's strategy call

How McLaren Missed Out in The Race

The critical point for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Frenchman around the outside of Turn One on lap seven

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

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

With Pirelli enforcing a 25-lap safety limit on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Competitor Reactions and Post-Race Statements

No words

Piastri commented in his after-race conversation: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight I drove the strongest performance I could, as fast as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my utmost but didn't get it done

The race winner stated: This was an amazing performance for us We made the correct decision to pit It was smart And extremely pleased to win here and stay in the fight to the head, incredible

Final Race Positions

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial title decider at the Yas Marina The circuit itself does not create the most exciting competition, but yet again this twilight race features an contest which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's much-debated first title in twenty-twenty-one