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

This proved to be a costly decision that sacrificed track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the victory for Piastri

Grand Prix Results and Championship Consequences

The race winner won to take his 7th win of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the Briton in fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz

Norris earned an extra two points by overtaking the Mercedes driver's Mercedes on the penultimate lap

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

To win the title, Norris must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if Verstappen takes victory next race day

Key Events of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• The team's decision not to stop when a yellow flag was deployed on lap seven for a crash between Alpine's Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A strategy led by Piastri to advance his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader proved unsuccessful
• A surprise podium finish for Sainz handed by McLaren's tactical decision

The Way The British Team Missed Out in The Race

The fateful point for McLaren was when the two drivers collided as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Gasly around the outside of the first corner on the seventh lap

The German's car was left 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 grand prix

With the tire manufacturer imposing a twenty-five lap maximum usage on the tires, that meant anyone who made a stop at that moment was locked into a rigid strategy with a additional pit stop on lap 32

Competitor Reactions and After the Event Comments

No words

The McLaren driver added in his after-race interview: Clearly we didn't get it right tonight My driving was the strongest performance I could, as quick as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Attempted my best but couldn't secure victory

The race winner said: This was an amazing performance for us We made the correct decision to pit That proved intelligent And super-happy to win here and stay in the fight to the end, remarkable

Ultimate Race Standings

• 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2. Piastri (McLaren Racing)
• 3. Sainz (Williams)
• 4. Norris (McLaren)
• 5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
• 6. Russell (Mercedes)
• 7. Alonso (Aston Martin F1)
• 8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
• 9. Lawson (Racing Bulls)
• 10. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

Looking Ahead

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 twilight race features an contest which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or Verstappen's highly controversial first title in twenty-twenty-one