Hamilton actually also had the ability, like Norris, to continue on the track.
However, after the team realized that Qin Miao's speed was not slower than Hamilton's, they directly called Hamilton back in.
Hamilton, who pitted in, was a bit resentful, but once in, there was nothing more to be done.
After exiting the pit, Hamilton found himself just 2 seconds ahead of Qin Miao.
At this point, Hamilton was 25 seconds behind Norris, with 3 laps left in the race.
It could be said that Norris, on hard tires, could afford to be 5 seconds slower per lap than Hamilton and still win this race, breaking his own career record to claim his first ever Grand Prix victory.
As long as he didn't have any mishaps on the track...
rcedes actually understood Norris and McLaren's strategy as well.
But without too much risk, rcedes could let their two drivers compete for this Grand Prix win.
Today's race showed Verstappen's notably lackluster performance, as he was still in eighth place, stuck behind Sainz due to a team blunder.
Today's race was a perfect opportunity for rcedes' two drivers to widen the points gap with Verstappen.
So rather than focusing on winning the Grand Prix, rcedes preferred their drivers to safely finish in second and third places.
Which is why they decided to have Hamilton pit for a tire change.
When Hamilton ca upon Qin Miao, without waiting for the team to instruct, and realizing Qin Miao was right behind him, Hamilton voluntarily slowed down and gave the position back to Qin Miao.
After overtaking Hamilton, Qin Miao retook second place, with Hamilton now in third.
Though it was expected to give the position back to Qin Miao, Hamilton's move still won him many local fans.
No matter Hamilton's past behavior, and despite his controversial driving and collisions in races.
Of course, most local fans were fond of Qin Miao, as he was the only Chinese driver on the circuit, making him an easy choice for local support.
Lap 50, Norris still chose not to pit.
Even though Qin Miao had gained over 6 seconds on him in the last lap, there were only 3 laps remaining and the ti gap between Norris and Qin Miao was still 18 seconds.
Even if Qin Miao caught up by 6 seconds per lap, he would only manage to close in on Norris before the race ended, without being able to overtake him.
Realizing that the ti gap with Norris in the remaining 3 laps was insurmountable, Qin Miao shifted his attention from Norris ahead to his teammate Hamilton behind.
Even though Hamilton returned the position that was originally his.
The race wasn't over yet, and the team hadn't instructed that Hamilton couldn't continue to attack Qin Miao after returning the position.
Moreover, putting himself in Hamilton's shoes, Qin Miao understood that he wouldn't give up such an opportunity to close the points gap with his teammate.
So, in all likelihood, Hamilton would launch an attack in the last 3 laps.
Though driver data is hard to circulate between teams, as teammates, Hamilton and Qin Miao knew each other's driving habits well.
And Qin Miao had a notable weakness—Rain Combat Ability.
And right now? It's raining.
...
Hamilton's strategy was simple: having returned the position to Qin Miao, he no longer owed him anything.
Now attacking Qin Miao was simply normal driver competition, without elevating to a moral issue.
So in the first sector of lap 51, Hamilton braved the rain and began pushing hard, quickly closing the ti gap with Qin Miao.
Qin Miao's control of the car decreased in the rain, but his defense intelligence wasn't compromised.
Seeing Hamilton's actions revealed his intentions, so he moved to defensive lines once they reached the main straight.
By the ti they reached the braking point at T2 on lap 51, the ti gap between them had closed to 0.7 seconds.
The broadcast director, at this point, had a happy dilemma.
Norris, with an 18-second lead, was struggling on the track, slipping in nearly every corner.
While behind, Qin Miao and Hamilton, the two rcedes drivers, were embroiled in an internal rivalry.
He was montarily unsure what footage to show the audience.
However, unlike the broadcast director's contentnt, the rcedes pit was eerily silent.
The sparring between the two had resud, and with the rain, any mistake...
Toto's eyebrow was twitching, but he had no grounds to halt the battle between the two drivers. All he could do was hope they rembered his words and avoided foolish moves on track.
However, the weather on the track was changing far beyond anyone's expectations.
The two rcedes drivers had just passed through T2 into the long T3 corner when the rain intensified.
"Oh, the rain is getting heavier!" Bing exclaid at the sudden downpour, "With this heavier rain, Norris might not be able to hold his position.
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