Lando Norris' Championship Wait Goes On as Max Verstappen Wins in Qatar GP

Verstappen benefited from a tactical decision from the British team that flew in the face of decisions made by all other squads during an early race safety car deployment

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

Grand Prix Results and Championship Consequences

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

Norris earned an additional points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the second-to-last lap

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

To win the championship, the British driver must secure a podium position at Abu Dhabi if his rival wins the race next race day

Key Moments of the Dramatic Grand Prix

• The team's decision not to pit when a yellow flag was deployed on lap seven for a crash between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A strategy initiated by the Australian to advance his final stop in a desperate attempt to catch the leader proved unsuccessful
• A unexpected second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's tactical decision

The Way The British Team Lost Out in Qatar

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

Hulkenberg's car was left damaged beside the track This triggered the yellow flag

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

With Pirelli imposing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tyres, that meant anyone who made a stop at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on lap 32

Competitor Responses and After the Event Comments

No words

Piastri commented in his after-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the best race I was capable of, as fast as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but didn't get it done

Verstappen said: This was 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 end, incredible

Ultimate Race Positions

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

Looking Ahead

The all-important championship finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina The circuit itself does not produce the most thrilling competition, but yet again this evening event hosts an contest which promises to be every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in 2010, or the Dutch driver's much-debated initial championship in 2021