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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 period

This proved to be a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and retrospectively cost the race win for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Results and Title Consequences

The race winner triumphed to take his 7th victory of the season, matching the McLaren drivers, while the Piastri was runner-up and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

The McLaren driver won himself an additional points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the second-to-last lap

Norris has been maintained a twelve point advantage over his rival, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on 5-7 December

To secure the title, the British driver must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival wins the race next Sunday

Critical Moments of the Dramatic Race

• McLaren's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a collision between Alpine's Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg
• A decision initiated by the Australian to advance his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to challenge Verstappen came to nothing
• A unexpected podium finish for Sainz handed by McLaren's strategy call

How McLaren Lost Out in The Race

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

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

The crucial part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps left in the race

With Pirelli imposing a 25-lap safety limit on the tyres, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Responses and After the Event Statements

No words

Piastri commented in his post-race conversation: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as quick as I could, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my utmost but didn't get it done

The race winner stated: This was an incredible race for us We made the right call to box That proved intelligent And super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the end, incredible

Ultimate Race Standings

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

What's Next?

The all-important title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not produce the most thrilling competition, but once 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