At this time, Qin Miao still had 60% ERS power, but after defending against Hamilton for two laps, there was now a four-second gap between him and Verstappen.
Qin Miao pondered for a moment and before exiting T13 onto the start-finish straight, he asked Frankie over the team TR: "How much faster is Hamilton per lap compared to me?"
Although uncertain why Qin Miao suddenly posed such a baffling question, Frankie dutifully responded: "Before Hamilton got behind you, he was about 0.32 seconds faster per lap."
And just as Frankie answered Qin Miao, Hamilton happened to pull out on the outside line.
Indeed, even though Qin Miao was conversing with Frankie, when Hamilton arrived in a threatening position behind him, Qin Miao instinctively chose to defend by taking the inside line.
By this time, both had crossed the finish line detection point and entered the twenty-third lap.
Upon hearing Frankie's answer, Qin Miao replied: "Received."
Afterwards, Qin Miao remained silent.
