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Verstappen benefited from a strategy call from the British team that flew in the face of decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car deployment

This proved to be a expensive choice that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and retrospectively cost the race win for the Australian driver

Race Results and Championship Consequences

The race winner triumphed to take his seventh victory of the campaign, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was runner-up and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

Norris won himself an additional points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

The championship leader has been left with a twelve point advantage over his rival, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

To win the title, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival wins the race next race day

Critical Events of the Thrilling Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a safety car was called on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by the Australian to advance his final stop in a desperate attempt to challenge the leader came to nothing
• A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver handed by McLaren's strategy call

The Way McLaren Lost Out in The Race

The critical moment for the team was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Frenchman around the outside of the first corner on the seventh lap

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 race

With the tire manufacturer imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tyres, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was committed to a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Responses and After the Event Comments

Speechless

Piastri commented in his post-race interview: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the best race I was capable of, as quick as I could, but there was no more pace out there Tried my best but couldn't secure victory

The race winner said: That represented an incredible race for us We made the correct decision to pit That proved smart And super-happy to win here and stay in the fight to the end, incredible

Ultimate Race Positions

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

What's Next?

The all-important title decider at the 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 thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021