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Verstappen capitalized on a tactical decision from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car period

This proved to be a costly decision that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Outcome and Championship Implications

The race winner won to take his seventh victory of the season, matching Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was second and the Briton fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver won himself an additional points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

Norris has been left with a twelve point lead over Verstappen, who moved ahead of Piastri by four points heading to the final race on December 5-7

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

Key Moments of the Dramatic Race

• The team's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was called on lap seven for a crash between the French team's Gasly and the Swiss team's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by the Australian to bring forward his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to challenge the leader proved unsuccessful
• A surprise second podium for Sainz handed by the team's strategy call

The Way The British Team Missed Out in The Race

The critical moment for McLaren was when the two drivers came together as the Hulkenberg tried to pass the Gasly around the outside of the first corner on the seventh lap

Hulkenberg's car was left damaged beside the track That brought out the safety car

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

With Pirelli imposing a 25-lap safety limit on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that moment was locked into a rigid strategy with a second stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and Post-Race Statements

No words

The McLaren driver added in his after-race conversation: Obviously 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

Verstappen said: That represented an amazing performance for us We made the right call to pit That proved smart Furthermore extremely pleased to win here and stay in the fight to the head, incredible

Final Race Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina This venue does not produce the most exciting racing, but once again this evening event hosts an contest which appears set to become every bit as thrilling as Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in 2021