After passing the combination of T6 and T7 turns, Perez was visibly left behind by Hamilton.
Before the braking point at T9, Perez voluntarily slowed down and gave his position to Verstappen, allowing Verstappen to chase the Hamilton ahead.
When Verstappen once again caught up to the back of Hamilton, the time gap between Hamilton and Verstappen had shrunk to just 1.3 seconds. It could be said that both drivers were back on the same starting line.
On the same lap, Perez, whose tires were in a state of exhaustion, opted for a pit stop to change tires. His task in this race was not only to help Verstappen defend against Hamilton, but also to return to try and disrupt Qin Miao's chase.
Although at this point blocking Qin Miao seemed meaningless, he had to give it a try. What if a miracle happened, and Qin Miao made an unexpected mistake while defending against Perez?
