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Verstappen benefited from a strategy call from the British team that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car period

It was a costly decision that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and retrospectively threw away the victory for Piastri

Grand Prix Results and Title Implications

The race winner won to take his 7th victory of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was second and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

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

The championship leader has been left with a 12-point advantage over his rival, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

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

Key Events of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• McLaren's decision not to pit when a yellow flag was deployed on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A strategy 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 Sainz gifted by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Lost Out in The Race

The critical moment for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Gasly around the exterior of the first corner on the seventh lap

The German's car was left damaged beside the circuit This triggered the yellow flag

The crucial part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps remaining in the grand prix

With Pirelli imposing a 25-lap safety limit on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was committed to a fixed plan with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Responses and Post-Race Comments

No words

The McLaren driver added in his post-race conversation: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Attempted my best but didn't get it done

The race winner stated: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the correct decision to pit That proved intelligent And extremely pleased to win here and stay in the fight to the head, incredible

Ultimate Race Positions

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

What's Next?

The all-important championship finale at the Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most thrilling racing, but yet again this evening event features an event which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Vettel's first title in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated first title in 2021