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The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from the British team that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car deployment

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

Race Results and Championship Consequences

The race winner won to take his 7th victory of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

Norris earned an additional points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

The championship leader has been maintained a 12-point advantage over Verstappen, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

To win the championship, Norris must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen takes victory next Sunday

Key Events of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• The team's choice not to pit when a safety car was called on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Pierre 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 came to nothing
• A unexpected second podium for Sainz handed by McLaren's strategy call

How McLaren Missed Out in The Race

The critical point for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the German tried to overtake the Frenchman around the exterior of the first corner 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 left in the race

With Pirelli enforcing a 25-lap safety limit on the tyres, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Competitor Reactions and Post-Race Comments

No words

The McLaren driver commented in his after-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight I drove the strongest performance I was capable of, as quick as I could, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my utmost but didn't get it done

Verstappen said: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to pit That proved smart Furthermore super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Final Race Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most thrilling racing, but yet again this evening event features an event which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial first title in 2021