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Verstappen capitalized on a strategy call from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car deployment

It was a costly decision that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and in hindsight threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Grand Prix Results and Championship Consequences

Verstappen won to take his seventh win of the campaign, equalling Norris and Piastri, while the Piastri was runner-up and the British driver fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver earned an additional points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

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

To win the championship, Norris must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen wins the race next race day

Key Moments of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• McLaren's decision not to pit when a safety car was called 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 challenge Verstappen came to nothing
• A unexpected podium finish for Sainz handed by the team's tactical decision

The Way The British Team Missed Out in The Race

The fateful point for the team was when Gasly and Hulkenberg came together as the German tried to pass the Gasly around the exterior of the first corner on the seventh lap

Hulkenberg's car was damaged beside the track This triggered the safety car

The critical part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps remaining in the race

With Pirelli enforcing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was locked into a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Driver Reactions and Post-Race Statements

No words

The McLaren driver commented in his post-race interview: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I was capable of, as fast as I possible, but there was nothing left out there Tried my utmost but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen said: That represented an amazing performance for us We made the right call to pit It was smart Furthermore extremely pleased to win here and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Final Grand Prix Positions

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

What's Next?

The crucial title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not create the most thrilling racing, but once again this evening event features an event which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or Verstappen's highly controversial initial championship in 2021