đŸ”— Share this article Norris' Title Hopes Continues as Verstappen Triumphs in Qatar GP Verstappen secured his 7th victory of the season Lando Norris, Red Bull's Verstappen and Oscar Piastri will battle for a decisive championship clash in Abu Dhabi after the Dutch driver won a gripping Qatar GP Verstappen capitalized on a tactical decision from McLaren that contradicted decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car period It was a expensive choice that sacrificed track position to the Red Bull driver in the final stages and in hindsight cost the race win for Piastri Race Outcome and Title Implications Verstappen won to take his 7th win of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the British driver in fourth behind the Williams car of Carlos Sainz Norris earned an additional points by overtaking Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes on the penultimate lap The championship leader has been left with a 12-point lead over his rival, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7 To secure the championship, the British driver must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if his rival wins the race next Sunday Key Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix McLaren's choice not to pit when a yellow flag was deployed on the seventh lap for a crash between Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg A strategy led by Piastri to bring forward his last pit stop in a desperate attempt to catch Verstappen came to nothing A surprise second podium for the Williams driver gifted by the team's strategy call How The British Team Lost Out in Qatar The fateful moment for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the German tried to pass the Gasly around the outside of the first corner on lap seven The German's car was left damaged beside the circuit This triggered the safety car The critical part of the timing was that it left exactly 50 laps left in the grand prix With the tire manufacturer imposing a twenty-five lap safety limit on the tires, that meant anyone who pitted at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap Competitor Responses and After the Event Statements No words The McLaren driver commented in his after-race conversation: Clearly we made mistakes tonight My driving was the best race I could, as quick as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but didn't get it done Verstappen stated: This was an incredible race for us We made the correct decision to pit It was intelligent Furthermore super-happy to triumph in Qatar and stay in the fight to the end, incredible Final Race Positions 1. Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 2. Piastri (McLaren Racing) 3. Carlos Sainz (Williams) 4. Lando Norris (McLaren Racing) 5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes-AMG) 6. Russell (Mercedes-AMG) 7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin F1) 8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 9. Lawson (Racing Bulls) 10. Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing) Looking Ahead The crucial title decider at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina This venue does not produce the most thrilling competition, but once again this evening event hosts an event which promises to be every bit as thrilling as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021