One week after losing all its points from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren threw away a bunch more in an increasingly tense Formula One title race, by botching a strategy call at the Qatar GP on Sunday.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took full advantage of the unexpected gift to clinch a seventh win this season — his 70th overall — as he closed the gap on championship leader Lando Norris from 24 points at the start of the weekend to 12 points, heading into next Sunday's title decider in Abu Dhabi.

McLaren still has two drivers in contention, with Oscar Piastri four points behind Verstappen in third, but must stop the slide.

Norris would have clinched his first F1 title with a win in Qatar, but finished fourth, with Piastri placing second having started from pole position and looking assured.

But, after an early safety car, McLaren's decision to keep both drivers out backfired badly, as Verstappen effectively benefited from a free tire change in a mandatory two-stop race.

"It's tough, we just have to have faith in the team to make the right decision," Norris told broadcaster Sky Sports.

"Now, it's the wrong decision, we shouldn't have done it (and) we didn't do a good job today."

Norris leads with 408 points, Verstappen has 396 and Piastri 392. All three title contenders have won seven races.

Verstappen is aiming for a fifth straight F1 crown, with Piastri chasing a first title. Norris will become the first British driver to win the championship since Lewis Hamilton clinched his seventh title in 2020 if he finishes at least third in Abu Dhabi, even if Verstappen wins the race.

Gamble backfires

Although Verstappen overtook Norris heading into Turn 1, Piastri made a clean start and took a comfortable lead early on.

Piastri also said McLaren made an error by staying out following the safety car, which came out after Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber was sent spinning off the track on Lap 7 after being clipped by Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.

"Speechless. I don't have any words," Piastri said. "It is a little bit tough to swallow at the moment."

Later, the Australian added: "Clearly we didn't get it right", and said there would be discussions.

The decision played into Verstappen's hands and the elated Dutchman climbed out of his car and jumped into the arms of his mechanics and engineers after winning.

"This was an incredible race for us, we made the right call as a team to box under that safety car," Verstappen said.

"Super happy to win here, we stayed in the fight until the end. Incredible."

The decision to stay out was even more questionable in a race where drivers had to take two pit stops over the 57 laps — a measure imposed on safety grounds due to a high risk of tire degradation at the Lusail International Circuit.

Gambling on holding track position left McLaren at risk later on, unless there was another safety car.

"It wasn't the correct decision," McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said.

Because drivers were restricted to a maximum of 25 laps on the Pirelli tires, those who pitted had to change again on Lap 32.

After the McLarens made their first tire changes, Norris was in fifth place behind Piastri in fourth. That left Verstappen out in front and with several laps to build his lead.

McLaren pitted Piastri again on Lap 43 and Norris soon after, but when Norris came back out on Lap 45 he was fifth with Kimi Antonelli and Carlos Sainz Jr barring his way. Norris overtook Antonelli right at the end, but could not catch Sainz, who finished third.

George Russell was sixth for Mercedes, with Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) completing the top 10.

Hamilton's dismal run for Ferrari continued with a 12th-placed finish. Aside from clinching a sprint race in China in March, the 40-year-old has not been on the podium all season.

Abu Dhabi decider

Desert battles seem to suit Verstappen, who clinched a third straight win in Qatar and has won four of the last five races in Abu Dhabi. Norris may take hope from the fact he won there last year.

But the McLarens head to Abu Dhabi with a hard-charging Verstappen looking to repeat history by clinching a championship in the last race at Abu Dhabi, having done so when he overtook Hamilton on the final lap after a controversial finish in 2021.

"It's possible now, but we will see," said Verstappen, who had written off his chances earlier this season.

"I don't really worry about it too much."

Agencies via Xinhua