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The championship contender benefited from a tactical decision from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car deployment

It was a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and in hindsight cost the victory for the Australian driver

Race Results and Championship Consequences

Verstappen won to take his 7th win of the campaign, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Australian was runner-up and the British driver fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

Norris won himself an additional points by passing the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

Norris has been maintained a 12-point advantage over Verstappen, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To secure the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Yas Marina if his rival takes victory next Sunday

Critical Events of the Dramatic Race

• The team's choice not to stop when a yellow flag was deployed on the seventh lap for a collision between the French team's Gasly and the Swiss team's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision led by the Australian to bring forward his final stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader came to nothing
• A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver gifted by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way McLaren Missed Out in The Race

The fateful point for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the German tried to overtake the Frenchman around the outside of Turn One on lap seven

The German's car was 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 enforcing a 25-lap safety limit on the tires, that signified anyone who made a stop at that moment was locked into a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Responses and After the Event Statements

Speechless

The McLaren driver commented in his post-race conversation: Obviously 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 best but didn't get it done

The race winner said: That represented an incredible race for us We made the right call to pit It was intelligent Furthermore super-happy to win here and stay in the fight to the end, incredible

Ultimate Grand Prix Standings

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

Looking Ahead

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