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Lando Norris admitted he needed a lie down after McLaren's monumental blunder under pressure from Max Verstappen set up a nail-biting decider in Abu Dhabi this coming weekend.
The British driver was hampered by his team's inexplicable decision to keep him and Oscar Piastri out during an early safety car phases when all but one of the rest of the field took the free pit stop on offer.
The blunder cost runner-up Piastri, who was driving superbly, a likely victory from pole, and condemned Norris to finish fourth.
It allowed Verstappen to win and narrow his deficit to Norris to 12 points. Piastri is 16 adrift. Second place next weekend will guarantee Norris a maiden title, but that is a tough task given McLaren's latest implosion only a week after a double disqualification in Las Vegas for running too shallow a plank.
Norris said: 'It was the wrong decision. We shouldn't have done it. I just want to go to bed.'
Asked if the title was still his to lose, he said: 'There is nothing I can do about it. It is not our greatest day or our greatest weekend. But I don't know if anyone saw the run of results I had before? They were great.
Lando Norris admitted he needed a lie down after McLaren's monumental blunder under pressure from Max Verstappen set up a nail-biting decider in Abu Dhabi
The Dutchman was the beneficiary of a mistake from McLaren, allowing him to close the gap on Lando Norris
'It was not my finest day in terms of driving and putting things together. That is life. Everyone has bad weekends. I take it on the chin. We all take it on the chin, and we will see what we can do next weekend.'
Piastri said: 'It is obvious what we should have done but we will discuss it as a team. It is not all bad, but tough to swallow.'
Controversy reared its head when Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase told him over the radio that it looked as if Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli 'pulled over and let Lando through'.
The pass allowed Norris to take fourth. Had he finished fifth, he would now require runners-up spot in Abu Dhabi to be certain of the title.
Reacting to Lambiase's accusation, which was backed up by Red Bull's motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff exclaimed: 'Brainless. This is total, utter nonsense. It blows my mind. We are fighting for P2 in the constructors' championship.
'Why would we even think about interfering in the drivers' championship? You really need to check yourself when you are seeing ghosts.'
Verstappen, asked about his title chances, having come on a late charge since the summer break, said: 'I am relying on a little bit of luck in Abu Dhabi.
'I am excited to go there and have a go at it. On pure pace we are not on the same level as McLaren, but when strategy comes into play, and making the calls at the right time, we might have an opportunity.'
Gianpiero Lambiase told Verstappen that it looked as if Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli 'pulled over and let Lando through'
The Dutchman, who started third and was lying second when the decisive safety car was deployed, added: 'It came out on the right lap. We opted to box and others behind me had the same idea.
'The team did a good job and we stayed out of trouble.
'When I came out of the pits I was like, 'OK, this is a very good opportunity to win the race.' I don't think about losing. That's not in my head. I think about how to win.'
