However, by lap 53, the rain intensified suddenly, and many drivers started spinning on the track because they couldn't brake.
But Qin Miao didn't pit to change tires on lap 53.
Though this lap would be tough, changing to rain tires now would be too early.
As the rain continued, almost every driver's speed changed, and Qin Miao was lapping Zhou Guanyu. The situation on the track became extremely chaotic, making the Mercedes strategy group almost overwhelmed, with no time to calculate the benefits of pitting now.
Yet there are always pioneers, and Bottas and Stroll were exemplary among them.
Both of them changed to intermediate tires on lap 53, and almost all teams used these two drivers' lap times as a reference.
Anytime these two were faster than drivers on hard tires, other teams would call their drivers in to change to rain tires.
Meanwhile, Frankie advised Qin Miao to widen the gap between him and Hamilton slightly.
