The next stretch of the track is relatively calm; at least for the three drivers in the leading group, they're all just cruising for a while.
On lap 24, Qin Miao's advantage in tire preservation shows itself completely; he can't keep helping his teammate Hamilton anymore.
Because right now, they're both on softs, but even running with the pace dialed back, Qin Miao's lap time is still 0.3 seconds faster than Hamilton's.
Not to mention this race, thanks to that yellow flag period right after the start, Qin Miao's tire wear has been very low; he basically doesn't need to save his tires at all.
So even though Qin Miao still wants to manage his little DRS train at the back of the lead pack, his pace simply won't allow it anymore.
Plus, with the team's plan to pit on lap 32, Qin Miao can't just keep nursing the durability of this set of softs; he needs to burn up all the remaining life on these tires before lap 32.
