When Verstappen was blocked on the inside line by Leclerc, he could only swing to the outside, deciding whether to brake late and fight into the corner or brake early to seize the crossover line.
Moreover, Verstappen felt that Leclerc's exit from the corner this lap was not that smooth, and his speed was somewhat affected by a bad exit.
Verstappen felt he could very likely overtake Leclerc on this lap, although he knew Hamilton was right behind him, getting closer and closer.
However, after battling Leclerc for so many laps, Verstappen was somewhat fired up and wasn't paying attention to Hamilton behind him. He was more focused on quickly overtaking Leclerc ahead of him. Once he overtook Leclerc, all the pressure from Hamilton would naturally transfer to Leclerc.
You can't really blame Verstappen for being reckless. It's quite frustrating when your lap speed is clearly faster than the other person's, yet you can't overtake. Plus, with his main competitor Hamilton closing in from behind, it's difficult for anyone to stay calm and composed.
As for Leclerc, he was gradually getting used to Verstappen's attacking rhythm from behind, and he vaguely sensed that Qin Miao in front was driving conservatively, seemingly lending a helping hand during several of Verstappen's attacks by blocking his path.
Of course, these were just Leclerc's speculations, and he didn't think anyone could be so exceptional as to defend him while also defending against Verstappen from behind.
While braking at the T2 braking point, Leclerc glanced at his right-hand mirror, focusing intently on Verstappen's car, estimating the distance between their cars.
Verstappen was doing the same, estimating his distance from Leclerc ahead, all the while carefully controlling his car's braking.
Entering the braking point, Leclerc braked very late. Seeing Leclerc's deceleration rate, Verstappen knew he couldn't rely on late braking to seize line advantage, so he prepared to take the crossover line.
As Leclerc decided to turn into the corner with Verstappen, he left his right-side threat zone and naturally prepared to enter the corner to cut the apex of T3.
In an unnoticed hidden corner, a black Mercedes with a red top and silver back suddenly forced its way onto the inside line of the two cars, barely brushing against the inside of Leclerc's tire, surpassing both cars at the T2 apex.
The person who completed this entire maneuver was none other than Hamilton, who had lost the chance to compete for the championship due to a mistake.
In this lap, he had already caught up behind Leclerc and Verstappen, with the advantage of DRS.
Hamilton had originally planned to deal with these two gradually, but he didn't expect them to give such an opportunity, leaving a not-too-small gap on the inside line.
An average driver wouldn't dare to dive into such a gap like Hamilton, because any miscontrol could lead to major issues.
If he veered left, the car would be directly bounced up by the curb at the apex, leading to unpredictable outcomes.
If he veered right, the tire would inevitably hit Leclerc's tire. Given F1 tires' grip, taking off would be considered minor. If it flew high enough and crashed down, the car could be severely damaged, potentially ending the race right there.
Thus, drivers with average skills wouldn't dare to dive in like Hamilton, possibly missing such an opportunity.
But a seven-time champion is a seven-time champion, capable of seizing any opportunity he gets.
Qin Miao not only completed the task assigned by the team but exceeded expectations.
After Hamilton overtook both cars simultaneously, despite the on-site atmosphere being quite quiet due to the lack of spectators, with no cheers whatsoever.
Everyone who witnessed the race, both commentators and viewers at home, went berserk.
"Oh my gosh, Hamilton!"
"Huh? Hamilton's one-two pass! He found an excellent opportunity!"
"Two Mercedes have come to first and second positions!"
"Wow, Verstappen got careless!"
"How did Hamilton manage to weave through such a small gap?"
Compared to commentators needing to somewhat organize their words, netizens responded to Hamilton's maneuver much more straightforwardly:
[Huh?]
[Awesome!]
[Holy!]
[Seven-time champion!]
[Seven-time? Cupping!]
[Damn! Ham!]
[Lewis 'Threading the Needle' Hamilton]
[He's really daring]
[He really caught up again]
Hamilton threaded his way to second and followed Qin Miao's rhythm out of T4.
After confirming that there wouldn't be any position changes on the track shortly, the director again focused the live camera on Toto.
In the Mercedes team paddock, it had already become a sea of joy. The staff was either raising their hands high in cheers or clapping vigorously. Everyone was visibly delighted, including Mercedes team principal Toto.
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