Hamilton had barely exited the pit lane before he couldn't help but complain over the team radio. "These tires aren't working, man."
"The other available tire options have already been scrubbed. Just focus on tire management when you encounter lapped traffic," the team replied, somewhat evasively.
"Where's Wu Shi? I mean, is he ahead of me or behind me? Who's in front of me right now?" Hamilton asked.
"Wu Shi also pitted. He's behind you, 6.350 seconds back. Vettel is still leading, and you're 11.062 seconds behind him. Rosberg is also ahead of you; the gap is 7.565 seconds."
The team relayed the information, but Hamilton was visibly dissatisfied. His voice grew urgent as he demanded, "What tires did Wu Shi change to? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Uh, he switched to medium tires. He saved a set of mediums during practice," the team replied.
"So his set of mediums is brand new?"
"Yes."
"What lap are we on?"
"You pitted on lap 39, and you've emerged on lap 40."
