After struggling on the track for a whole lap, Vettel finally returned to the pit lane to switch to intermediate tires.
The Martin Team's attempt was indeed bold, but obviously, the track conditions were not quite as they had anticipated.
Moreover, due to this pit stop, Vettel's position fell to second to last.
Although Vettel's original tenth position would only earn the Martin Team one point, this failed attempt left Vettel with nothing.
On lap 42, after running for four laps, Qin Miao surprisingly discovered that the time gap between himself and Leclerc ahead hadn't shortened much; it was still a five-second gap.
Gaining only one second in four laps was indeed unexpected for Qin Miao.
But the team timely offered comfort: "Leclerc's tires probably won't last until the end of the race, you're doing well, keep it up."
Qin Miao decided not to further accelerate, glanced at the time gap between himself and Verstappen behind him, and continued to run at his comfortable pace.
