When the camera cut over, it was clear that Hamilton's left rear tire had blown out, the tire surface completely deflated, limply drooping around the rim, helplessly flapping with the rotation of the tire.
Obviously, Hamilton needs to pit for a new set of tires.
And by the time they reached the main straight on lap 1, when Verstappen returned the place to Qin Miao, Hamilton and Magelsen had already fallen to the back of the pack.
With two fewer cars ahead, Zhou Guanyu, who started ninth, had already moved up to seventh, with his teammate Bottas right in front.
The thoughts of Verstappen and the Red Bull team behind Qin Miao were quite simple.
Although getting rid of Qin Miao would relieve a lot of pressure for the team and Verstappen himself, there's still Leclerc up ahead, and carrying a 5-second penalty for getting rid of Qin Miao really isn't worth it.
