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The championship contender capitalized on a strategy call from McLaren that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an initial safety car period

It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to the Red Bull driver in the closing laps and in hindsight threw away the victory for Piastri

Race Outcome and Championship Implications

The race winner triumphed to take his 7th victory of the season, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was runner-up and the Briton fourth behind the Williams car of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver won himself an extra two points by passing the Mercedes driver's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

Norris has been left with a twelve point advantage over his rival, who overtook his teammate by four points heading to the final race on 5-7 December

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

Critical Moments of the Thrilling Race

• McLaren's choice not to stop when a safety car was called on the seventh lap for a crash between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by the Australian to bring forward his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch Verstappen came to nothing
• A surprise podium finish for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call

The Way McLaren Missed Out in The Race

The critical point for the team was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Gasly around the exterior of Turn One on lap seven

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

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

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that signified anyone who made a stop at that moment was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and After the Event Statements

Speechless

Piastri added in his post-race interview: Obviously we made mistakes tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as fast as I could, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my utmost but couldn't secure victory

The race winner stated: That represented an incredible race for us We made the correct decision to box It was intelligent And extremely pleased to win here and stay in the fight to the head, remarkable

Final Race Positions

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

Looking Ahead

The crucial title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit This venue does not create the most thrilling competition, but yet again this twilight race features an contest which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's first title in 2010, or Verstappen's highly controversial initial championship in twenty-twenty-one