But even at such an extreme speed, Qin Miao only managed to clock a lap identical to Verstappen's first Q3 lap time in qualifying.
The difference was, Verstappen had already completed his final flying lap and brought his time down to 1:04.391, firmly in P1.
In the end, Pan also secured pole for this race with that time.
However, second place did not go to a Mercedes driver.
Second was Leclerc, with a 1:04.439.
Hamilton was only third, with a 1:04.500.
Old Man's time was just 0.003 seconds faster than Qin Miao's.
To be honest, when Qin Miao heard this as he was doing his in-lap after quali, he was completely dumbfounded.
Qin Miao was willing to accept Hamilton being faster than him; after all, his strength and Hamilton's really are on the exact same level.
In qualifying, if the wind on track is just a bit stronger, or if he runs over some tiny stone, or gets slightly blocked by a slow car and can't use the optimal line on corner exit, he might not be able to beat Hamilton.
