Meanwhile, even though Mercedes noticed Ferrari's actions, they weren't in a rush at all.
Not to mention that Qin Miao's lap times with the current set of soft tires were still stable, and even if Sainz, who had just exited the pit lane, was faster per lap, the 5.7-second advantage Qin Miao accumulated over 16 laps was enough for the Mercedes strategy team to temporarily lower their intelligence to the same level as Ferrari's and make a mistake.
Even so, Qin Miao had sufficient time to maintain his lead after exiting the pit lane.
Moreover, after the last Grand Prix, Toto was quite strict with the team, making everyone nervous, so Qin Miao's pit stop at lap 22 went flawlessly.
After coming out of the pit lane, Qin Miao's position remained unchanged, as he was the last among the front-row drivers to pit.
Once Qin Miao came out, he was 1.7 seconds ahead of Leclerc.
