🔗 Share this article

Verstappen benefited from a tactical decision from McLaren that flew in the face of 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 closing laps and in hindsight threw away the race win for Piastri

Race Results and Title Implications

Verstappen triumphed to take his seventh win of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was second and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver earned an extra two points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

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

To secure the championship, the British driver must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen wins the race next race day

Key Moments of the Thrilling Race

• The team's decision not to stop when a safety car was called on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Pierre Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision led by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch Verstappen proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Missed Out in The Race

The critical moment for McLaren was when the two drivers collided as the German tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of the first corner on lap seven

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

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

With Pirelli imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tyres, that signified anyone who made a stop at that moment was committed to a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Responses and Post-Race Statements

Speechless

The McLaren driver added in his post-race conversation: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight My driving was the best race I could, as quick as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but didn't get it done

The race winner said: That represented an amazing performance for us We made the right call to pit It was intelligent And super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Final Race Standings

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial championship finale at the Yas Marina Circuit The circuit itself does not produce the most thrilling racing, but yet again this evening event hosts an event which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Vettel's first title in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's highly controversial first title in 2021