Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, Nurburgring, 2013

2013 German Grand Prix team radio transcript

2013 German Grand Prix

11th July 2013, 12:321st August 2014, 11:08 | Written by Keith Collantine

A tense strategic battle played out between Red Bull and Lotus during the German Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel spent much of the race under pressure from one of the black-and-gold cars as Lotus tried to manouevre their drivers into a position where they good get past.

He wasn’t helped by a mid-race KERS problem which fortunately cleared up later on. Raikkonen’s efforts to get on terms with the championship leader were dogged by radio problems.

Here’s the broadcast radio chatter from the German Grand Prix in full, including over 300 messages.

2013 German Grand Prix team radio transcript

Lap*	From	To	Message
PR	Jenson Button	Dave Robson	With the temperature rising, Button discusses increasing his front wing level. That should be a turn or so anyway shouldn’t it?
PR	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	Absolutely. So I think we’re about right. Possibly slightly on the high side, half a turn maybe, but I think we’re porbably about right.
PR	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Just a reminder from Gav: When we get running we’re currently C-thumbwheel-two. If you want more diff at high speed, C-thumbwheel-one, if you want more support from the diff in the high speed, OK? Just after your comments about it being a bit twitchy in the turn 11. We will do a start to grid, it will be torque one and it will be clutch one for the start. And we’ll do pit limiter on.
PR	Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	Bottas is reminded to ensure his seamless shift works properly. So as discussed try to learn the dogs as early as possible and then just cool the car as much as possible after that.
PR	Brad Joyce	Adrian Sutil	Sutil, who is starting on soft tyres, is told which of the drivers in front of him are using the medium compound. Button ahead is also on mediums. Medium start tyres are Alonso, Massa, Hulkenberg, Rosberg.
PR	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	Jenson the only [medium] runners behind us are Hulkenberg and Rosberg and both the Williams. All others are on [softs].
PR	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Perez and di Resta behind you are on [soft], Hulkenberg, Button in front are on [medium].
FL	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	RS modes cancel. A reminder of engine cooling wherever you can, so high speed, high gear. And working the tyres front and rear and working the brakes as well. Rear brakes are cold at the moment.
FL	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	We’re going to boost to 40 around this lap where you can. We’re going to do two burn-outs out of turn seven.
FL	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	All gears are good.
FL	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Webber made a poor start in the previous race at Silverstone but got away well at the Nurburgring. At the start if you get wheel slip hold the throttle.
FL	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	We need a good job on engine to turn 11. All other systems are good. Remember no part-throttle.
FL	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Weaving and engine cooling where you can. And remember to back up the grid, they will string out again so back up where you can. Bite point seven.
FL	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Brakes are hot enough now, easy into 13. Get your brake balance set for turn one. Harvest mode four.
FL	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	Remember to pull the clutch in and slow down to your position in first, gear please.
FL	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	We’re going to do a bite point check, RS modes and steering straight. Remember your brake balance for the first corner. Bite point eight.
1	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Torque three.
1	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Red switch down when you can.
1	Marco Schupbach	Nico Hulkenberg	Pedal seven or eight, special one off.
2	Andrew Murdoch	Pastor Maldonado	We need water position two.
2	Andrea Stella	Fernando Alonso	Alonso receives a message in Italian. Behind you is Perez on [soft]
2	Charles Pic	Tim Wright	Pic locked his tyres up at turn one at the start. I’ve got a big vibration in the front-right.
2	Tim Wright	Charles Pic	Understood Charles we are looking into it. Do you think you have a flat-spot?
3	Andrew Murdoch	Pastor Maldonado	We need you to look after the tyres from now.
3	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	DRS enabled.
3	Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	Look after the tyres. All those around are on a different strategy.
3	Romain Grosjean	Ayao Komatsu	One turn less front wing.
3	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Copy that, one turn down for the next stop.
3	Gianpiero Lambiase	Paul di Resta	How are the tyres please Paul?
3	Paul di Resta	Gianpiero Lambiase	Not bad.
4	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Perez gained three positions at the start, then passed Button on lap two. Great couple of laps. Let’s attack the cars in front, we’re still looking to go to target. DRS enabled.
4	Felipe Massa	Rob Smedley	Massa spins off at turn one and retires at the beginning of lap four. The gears were not going down. The engine went off in fifth.
4	Andrea Stella	Fernando Alonso	DRS is disabled, yellow flag in corner one.
5	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	We need you to start closing Hulkenberg down and getting past him.
5	Gary Gannon	Max Chilton	Still yellow turn one.
5	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Suggest half a turn rearwards on brake balance and update your wear switch.
5	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	How is the tyre, Romain? And DRS is enabled
5	Romain Grosjean	Ayao Komatsu	Starting to grain a little bit on the front-left.
5	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Copy that. At the moment [medium] looks slow.
6	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Track is clear, DRS is enabled. Green KERS F3.
6	Romain Grosjean	Ayao Komatsu	The gap between Grosjean and Raikkonen has been under a second since the start. I’m much quicker than Kimi.
6	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	OK, copy that.
6	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Let’s push now.
6	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Can we do once more past. How are the tyres?
6	Mark Temple	Mark Temple	We can do one more lap
6	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	OK let’s do it, let’s really push now, give it everything.
7	Andrew Murdoch	Pastor Maldonado	Just keep looking after the rear tyres.
7	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Lewis is now the next car behind you on new [medium] tyres. We need to close down Hulkenberg, really need to close him down.
7	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Vettel pits Box, box, box. Torque map one and box.
7	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Watch your speed, hit your marks.
7	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Big push now, big push.
8	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Looks like Red Bull are coming in so it’s going to be close on exit.
8	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Stay right of the white line, don’t lift, use KERS on the exit. We’re going to be racing cars on the way out.
8	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	That’s Vettel in front on new [medium] tyres.
8	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Rear temps are at the maximum limit now.
8	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Box Mark, box. Torque map one and box. Hold brake pressure in the pit stop.
9	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Webber’s pit stop goes badly wrong as a right-rear wheel comes off his car. Switch off the engine, please.
9	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Stay in the car, Mark.
9	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	We need to go through the traffic if you can.
9	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	Raikkonen is told Grosjean is about to pit but his team mate changes his plans and stays out until lap 13. Romain is boxing now so we’re racing him.
9	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Keep pushing Romain, [soft] tyres still good.
10	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	We’d like to still go to target, make sure we look after this tyre. You’re in a great position.
10	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	We’re matching the [medium] runners who have not stopped. We are matching them for pace. If we can find a little bit in the middle sector that will be good, we can gain on them.
11	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Rosberg has fallen two seconds behind Hulkenberg. Really need to push hard. Grosjean is about to pit and he’ll come out in front of you if you don’t close the gap to Hulkenberg.
11	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Remember to use KERS.
11	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Vettel passes Button, who is yet to pit, leaving him behind Grosjean and Alonso. Nicely done Sebastian. That’s Alonso in front of you, mate.
12	Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Hamilton urges Mercedes to tell Rosberg to let him past. Nico is not in the same race.
12	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Nico you are on a different strategy to Lewis, don’t hold him up.
12	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Just close up the gap slowly. You don’t need to burn up your tyres, make sure you keep your tyres in good shape. Alonso is 38.3.
12	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	You’re soon going to catch Bottas who’s on old [medium] tyres. You will be much faster than him, it may be an opportunity to get Ricciardo as well.
12	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Can we get one more timed after this?
12	Romain Grosjean	Ayao Komatsu	Yes.
12	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	OK, copy that. Stay out, just keep pushing, OK.
13	Andrea Stella	Fernando Alonso	Box now, box, start map on.
13	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Press the air bottle again.
13	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Raikkonen is immediately behind Lewis, Lewis is on a different strategy.
13	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Grosjean pits from the lead. Box, Romain, box.
13	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	We are still on Plan A, Plan A target lap.
13	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	Pace looks OK, we’re still gapping the cars behind, this is good.
14	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Do I let him by?
14	Nico Rosberg	Tony Ross	Affirm Nico, he’s on a different strategy, but remember Raikkonen is immediately behind him.
14	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Button’s on 13 laps old [medium] tyre.
14	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Rosberg lets Hamilton past but Raikkonen gets by shortly afterwards. Just stay with Lewis. Raikkonen on [medium] tyres behind.
14	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	You’re on your target lap, current lap 14.
14	Marco Schupbach	Nico Hulkenberg	Copy Nico, yellow, stay out, traffic in the back.
15	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Update tyre rotary when you can.
15	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Grosjean comes out of the pits in third and immediately takes second off Button. Good job, excellent job Romain, so let’s get after Vettel now.
15	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Grosjean stayed out longer on his set of [softs], he’s now P2, you’re plus four Grosjean. He’s got new [mediums] now.
16	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Grosjean takes eight-tenths of a second out of Vettel on lap 15, cutting his deficit to 3.5 seconds. Vettel responds but by lap 22 they are separated by less than two seconds. Pace is good, you are eight tenths quicker than the car in front.
16	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Vettel is on [medium], much older rubber than you, OK.
16	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Box, box, box, boost to zero
17	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Grosjean 37.5, plus 3.5 Grosjean, good job.
17	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Brake balance up for turn one. You are pushing still, we still need to respect rear temperatures, they weren’t a problem in the first stint. Next car behind is approximately two seconds, Gutierrez. Correction: car ahead is Gutierrez, three seconds. Gutierrez is on ten lap old [medium] tyres so need to close him down.
18	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	We are about three tenths a lap slower than Jenson who’s the lead [medium] car but there are still cars on [medium] In front who#ve yet to stop who will come out behind us. So we’re in a good posiiton, let’s keep going, make sure look after these tyres, try and overtake if we get chance.
18	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	We are in the window. This pace is very good.
18	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	We need a bit in sector two.
18	Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	I have no grip, man. These tyre are not holding together very well.
18	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Copy that message, Lewis.
19	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	Car temperatures are good, we do not need free air.
19	Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Having started from pole position Hamilton is over 14 seconds behind by lap 19. These guys are on different tyres to me man.
19	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Copy that Lewis. You’re on your target lap, lap 19 currently.
20	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	Still running to target lap, we’re still gapping the cars behind.
20	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Rear temps sill 15.5, good.
20	Brad Joyce	Adrian Sutil	Use your wing rotary.
20	Nico Hulkenberg	Marco Schupbach	Hulkenberg made his first pit stop on lap 17. He came out behind Sutil who he passed on lap 21. Give me the tyre status of the guy who’s in front.
20	Marco Schupbach	Nico Hulkenberg	Sutil, 14 laps.
20	Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Is Nico having the same problem?
21	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	Raikkonen had problems with his radio earlier in the weekend and they recurred during the race. Radio only works turn twelve to turn one.
21	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	A-firm Lewis. Nico suffering the same issues. We’re just needing to clear some traffic, keep doing what you’re doing, try and get that traffic out of the way. Suggest half a turn rearwards on brake balance.
21	Esteban Gutierrez	Francesco Nenci	Rear tyres are degrading.
21	Francesco Nenci	Esteban Gutierrez	Copy. Try to stay? we need ten more laps. Stay close to Rosberg to see if you can get by and off-traffic they will recover. Now stay close to Rosberg, Esteban.
22	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Let’s push now to our target lap. Let’s push for the next ten laps or so.
22	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Remember to use all your KERS each lap.
22	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes decided to switch Hamilton to a three-stop strategy, bringing him in for his second change of tyres on lap 22. Big push, Lewis.
22	Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	I’m pushing, man, I’m pushing.
23	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Box, box, Boost to zero.
23	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	RS modes.
23	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	We have two laps of KERS overtake available. Toggle KERS when you need it.
23	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	We’re on Plan B, Kimi.
24	Paul Davison	Jules Bianchi	Bianchi’s Marussia comes to a stop at the approach to the chicane with smoke and flames at the rear of the car. Get out, Jules. Fire the fire extinguisher, get out quickly.
24	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Blown engine, could be oil on track. The car has stropped off-track. DRS disabled.
24	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Yellow turn 12 to 13, may be oil on track. Still yellow turn 13.
24	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Need some life-and-coast where we can just to cool these front brakes.
24	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Safety Car. Box, box, box. Torque map one and box.
25	Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Really struggling out here, guys. Doesn’t seem to be any grip.
25	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Copy that Lewis, we’re seeing some reasonably high tyre temps. Keep that delta positive.
25	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Start burning fuel.
25	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Don’t forget to drink, it’s hot out there. Now’s a good time.
25	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Need 1.5 seconds of KERS per lap.
25	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Try to put some temperature and pressures to your rear tyres and rehearse you restart in your mind. Safey Car line one is ahead and pitting.
26	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	You’ve got three cars ahead of us that started on the [medium] tyre so this could come back to us.
26	Jenson Button	Dave Robson	How long before me did the Sauber stop?
26	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	He stopped four laps before you. Hulkenberg behind on nine-lap old tyres now. Behind him is Hamilton and he’s on four-lap old used [medium] tyres.
26	Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	How far am I off the pace compared to the guys in front.
26	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	We’re 1.1 to Vettel and he’s the fastest car.
26	Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Is that the same for the other guys as well?
26	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	It looks like Alonso struggling a little, Grosjean not too bad on pace.
27	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis so if we could just start?
27	Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Just sliding around. Feels very, very similar to Barcelona.
27	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Don’t move off-line and no weaving.
27	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Maldonado in front, Hulkenberg and Jenson have only stopped once. Other cars have stopped twice.
27	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Vettel reminded not to overlap the brake and throttle too much while warming his tyres. The caliper temps at the front are getting hot so be careful with the overlap when you’re heating your tyres up.
27	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Tyre temperature are 11 front, 11 rear. This is the [medium] tyre so we will struggle a little bit on the restart.
28	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Around you obviously Di Resta in front, Gutierrez behind.
28	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	We are back on Plan A but we are not sure about the tyre so your feedback will be greatly appreciated during this stint.
28	Romain Grosjean	Ayao Komatsu	Grosjean asks a question which is hard to discern, the two briefly talk over each other.
28	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	We are looking into it. Release ten more percent please, release down to five-zero. At the moment we are sixty? OK, that’s fine.
28	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Di Resta is on fresh [medium] tyres, Ricciardo is on [medium] but it’s done a few more laps, Perez and Sutil are both on [medium] tyres. Gutierrez behind is on [medium] tyres as well.
28	Gianpiero Lambiase	Paul di Resta	So the outlier in the top ten is Hulkenberg, really, on 11-lap old set of medium tyres. Hulkenberg P6.
28	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Webber is allowed to unlap himself and is in the process of catching the field when he is told the Safety Car will remain out for another lap. Save 60% KERS for the restart. Only use 40 KERS this lap. The trail car is in turn 11 now.
28	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	The Safety Car is staying out this lap, you will catch the pack easily.
29	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Nice job. Think about diff settings, we saw you went to diff four. Safety Car is in this lap. Your tyres will be in a position than others for the restart.
29	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	You’re doing a good job on fuel, keep doing that, but we need a lap easy on the brakes.
29	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Rehearse the start in your mind. No overstaking before Safety Car line one. Make sure you let the Safety Car go away. KERS twelve and mix five. Think about diff and brake bias for the restart.
29	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Remember let the lights go out, let the Safety Car go away. Remember diff and brake bias.
29	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Use a little bit of KERS.
29	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	At the restart we want to pick off these cars quickly.
31	Francesco Nenci	Esteban Gutierrez	Webber behind, you are racing Webber.
31	Gary Gannon	Max Chilton	Let’s get Van der Garde, Max, we’ll switch around.
32	Juan Pablo Ramirez	Giedo van der Garde	Brake balance one click to the front.
32	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	You are target plus one, currently lap 32.
32	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	DRS is available.
32	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	RFA [DRS] is enabled. Rear temperatures 15.5, under control.
32	Andrew Murdoch	Pastor Maldonado	You need to look after these tyres from now on. We need to go long with this tyre set.
33	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Make sure you use all KERS every lap. If you want to save some for the last corner, suggest 60%.
33	Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	20 laps to go on this set, 20. So look after tyres.
33	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	KERS mode seven.
33	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Front brake temperature are on the hot side with a forward brake balance so we’d like some lift-and-coast where possible for it.
33	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Rear temperatures well under control, 15.
34	Andrea Stella	Fernando Alonso	Oil pump when you can.
34	Gianpiero Lambiase	Paul di Resta	Di Resta is trying to overtake Ricciardo. We have a 22kph advantage in a straight line so set yourself up for turn one.
34	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	KERS 11.
34	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Vettel’s KERS fails and he’s told to move the brake balance to compensate. His lap time rises by half a second on lap 34 and he’s another four-tenths slower the next time by, but then his lap times recover. This allows the Lotuses behind him to close – on lap 34 he, Grosjean and Raikkonen are covered by 1.39 seonds. Fail one-four, three clicks rearwards.
34	Francesco Nenci	Esteban Gutierrez	Diff entry nine for entry stability.
35	Gary Gannon	Max Chilton	Good job, Max. Keep the front temp up as best you can and watch the rears.
35	Tim Wright	Charles Pic	Box this lap, box. Pit confirm.
35	Tim Wright	Charles Pic	Toggle up.
35	Charles Pic	Tim Wright	Why?
35	Tim Wright	Charles Pic	We had a slow puncture rear-left, Charles.
35	Marco Matassa	Daniel Ricciardo	Think about lap for new [medium], Daniel.
36	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Brakes are on to hottish side front and rear, still under control, so it’s evenly balance front to rear now.
36	Jenson Button	Dave Robson	What times is Vettel doing?
36	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	Vettel last lap 36.6. This pace is good, very good.
36	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Great job getting past Maldonado. 24 laps to go. Let’s aim to maximise pace over those laps, make sure we get to the end with the tyres in good condition. We’re in a really strong position now.
36	Marco Schupbach	Nico Hulkenberg	Do you think 12 more laps on that set will be possible?
36	Nico Hulkenberg	Marco Schupbach	No, I doubt it.
37	Marco Schupbach	Nico Hulkenberg	Lap time still OK, can use more pre-load on entry.
37	Gianpiero Lambiase	Paul di Resta	Paul we have no concern over rear tyre life.
37	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Vettel gets encouragement as he begins to edge clear of the Lotuses again. Good job, Sebastan, keep fighting. Come on.
37	Andrea Stella	Fernando Alonso	Alonso receive a message in Italian which also includes information about tyres. We don’t have a big problem behind. Three seven Button, Hulkenberg six seconds to us.
38	Nico Hulkenberg	Marco Schupbach	I think the pit stop is not far away.
38	Marco Schupbach	Nico Hulkenberg	Copy that Nico.
38	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Di Resta is still stuck behind Ricciardo and the straight-line speed boost he is getting is making life difficult for Rosberg. Just remember Di Resta is also getting a tow and RFA from Ricciardo in front of him.
38	Marco Schupbach	Nico Hulkenberg	Plus five brake balance, quali pace now.
38	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Hulkenberg pits on lap 37. Hamilton is now in free air. You’ve got 23 laps remaining. Button ahead four seconds, his current pace 36.7. Let’s see what your free air pace is.
38	Marco Matassa	Daniel Ricciardo	Keep pushing Daniel, keep pushing.
39	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Use KERS, box this lap, torque one.
39	Francesco Nenci	Esteban Gutierrez	Rosberg is saving fuel in some braking events. He will do that when you’re not too close so if you put him under pressure he will have problems with the fuel so push on him. The points are not far, there’s a big train in front of you, try to find a way. Pedal switch, we’re not sure if it stays in position. We see you are in pedal seven, please try to fix it to pedal eight.
40	Esteban Gutierrez	Francesco Nenci	I don’t want pedal eight.
40	Francesco Nenci	Esteban Gutierrez	Copy, understood.
40	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Grosjean lost the DRS, come on. He’s too far back now, come on. Keep that up.
40	Romain Grosjean	Ayao Komatsu	It’s really difficult to overtake.
40	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Copy that.
40	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Last lap you were two-tenths fast than Button. Vettel two-tenths faster than you.
40	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Having failed to pass Vettel on the track, Lotus try to jump him by committing Grosjean to an early final pit stop. Box Romain, box. Clutch eight.
40	Romain Grosjean	Ayao Komatsu	Box.
41	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	You’ll be close to Perez on the pit exit.
41	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	You can use KERS, we need to be pushing these laps, you’ll be close to Perez.
41	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Plan A, you are going to the end, we need you to keep pushing this lap.
41	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	You’re doing a good job, we’re pushing cars out of our pit stop window so we’re going to extend the stint. Target plus four.
41	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull respond to Lotus. Watch your speed, hit your marks.
42	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Vettel’s KERS is working again. Watch your speed and white line. You’ll come out close to Grosjean, use KERS.
42	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	You need to keep pushing, Raikkonen ahead is pushing. Need to cover Raikkonen, mate.
42	Nico Rosberg	Tony Ross	Rosberg gives a muffled but positive message about his tyres.
42	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Copy. Let us now how the tyres are on the deg switch.
43	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Concentrate on four, five, six you’re upshifting too early.
43	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Hulkenberg catches Rosberg after pitting and passes the Mercedes on lap 45. Hulk is next car behind on 14 lap younger [option] tyres.
43	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	We are in the window, confirm.
43	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Vettel is 15 seconds behind Raikkonen and needs to overtake Hamilton for third. Sebastian you’re racing against Raikkonen at distance. You need to match his times, you need to go through this traffic as quickly as you can. You need to push, mate, that’s all I can tell you.
44	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	You’re currently slightly ahead on the road, Sebastian, so be careful with overtaking. Be wise.
44	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Don’t lose any time holding these guys up and update your wear switch please.
44	Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Did you say to let them past?
44	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Just don’t lose any time holding them up.
44	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	So you don’t need to let them by but we want quick laps.
45	Andrew Murdoch	Pastor Maldonado	Go mix position three.
45	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Hulk is inside your RFA window.
45	Juan Pablo Ramirez	Giedo van der Garde	Brake balance one click to the front.
45	Gianpiero Lambiase	Paul di Resta	Correction: Maldonado has to stop for soft tyre.
45	Marco Matassa	Daniel Ricciardo	Push the oil button, Daniel.
45	Mark Webber	Simon Rennie	Having made his final pit stop with 22 laps to go, Webber is gaining on several drivers ahead of him. What’s the score on the stops ahead, mate?
45	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	At the moment, Mark, people who’ve stopped ahead of you, you would cover them up to P7. Some cars in that train that you were following have stopped, anybody who stops will come out behind us.
46	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Checo this pace is good, 15 laps to go. A lot of the cars behind have pitted onto plan B. Which tyre would you prefer if we pit at the end, for ten laps?
46	Sergio Perez	Mark Temple	The [medium] tyre. Only the [medium] tyre.
46	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Understood, Checo. Our best chance is still getting this tyre to the end. Keep doing this, we’ll get the best position.
46	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	We’re currently P6. Plan A is still the best way to get the the end, we will score the best points that way.
47	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	Radio problems frustrate Lotus’s efforts to choose the right strategy for Raikkonen. Kimi you must only talk after turn 12. We cannot hear you anywhere else.
47	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	Vettel and Grosjean in traffic behind Button. You are quicker than everyone at the moment. 14 laps to go.
47	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	We understood that tyres are not bad.
47	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	Alonso will stop for [softs].
47	Kimi Raikkonen	Mark Slade	Raikkonen’s reply to his team is distorted and unintelligible.
47	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	Radio no good. Wait ’til turn 12.
48	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	Can you go to the end, Kimi? Sorry, radio is poor.
48	Kimi Raikkonen	Mark Slade	I told you already!
48	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	The three cars ahead of you, we think they’re going to have to stop again. Button has now fitted the option tyre, 13 laps remaining.
49	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Di Resta ahead 23 lap old [medium] tyres.
49	Gianpiero Lambiase	Paul di Resta	It’s Hamilton now behind, racing Hamilton.
49	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	You are out three seconds behind Gutierrez, you just need to pass these cars in front, they’re all on [medium] tyres.
50	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Raikkonen in the pits.
50	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Going to be close to Kimi there.. You’re ahead.
50	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Kimi behind is on [soft] tyres.
50	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Raikkonen has rejoined behind Grosjean. He’s got much fresher tyres. Lotus might decide to let him through.
50	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Everybody ahead has now pitted.
51	Andrew Murdoch	Pastor Maldonado	You’re taking new [soft] to the end.
52	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Still two laps of KERS overtake available.
52	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Traffic ahead, three cars: Pic, Chilton Van der Garde. They’re fighting for position, they’ve been warned.
52	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Grosjean and Raikkonen are also lapping the Caterhams and Chilton while pursuing Vettel. Grosjean lets Raikkonen by on lap 55. Kimi on the [soft] tyre behind you is coming up very quickly, do not hold him up. You’ve got ten laps to go including this one.
52	Romain Grosjean	Ayao Komatsu	Grosjean’s response is not completely clear. I don’t understand?
52	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Kimi behind is on [soft] tyre and he’s very fast so do not hold him up.
53	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Currently P7, fighting for P5.
53	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Gap to Hamilton five seconds.
53	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Let’s push, the tyres are good, we need to try and stay ahead of Hamilton.
54	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	The current threat from behind would be Hamilton. He’s on a new [medium] tyre. Last lap 1’35.0. He is nine seconds behind you.
54	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Good job Sebastian, be patient. The others will have to go through that as well. Next car Van der Garde.
54	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	You’ve got a clear track ahead. Go on, mate. Come on.
54	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Nice job, you can still catch Perez. Perez is doing mid-36s ahead of you. You can catch and pass him.
55	Jenson Button	Dave Robson	What lap times is Lewis doing?
55	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	Hamilton was half a second quicker than Button on lap 53. Lewis last lap 1’34.5. He’s still eight-and-a-half seconds behind. Traffic in front is Chilton.
55	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Mix five.
55	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Grosjean is unclear whether he’s been giving a team order. Kimi behind is on [soft] tyre, do not hold him up.
55	Romain Grosjean	Ayao Komatsu	Does that mean he’s faster than me?
55	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Yes, confirm, yes.
56	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Pace is good, you will catch Perez, it’s going to be very tight at the end of the race.
56	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Raikkonen has passed Grosjean. That’s a good lap, Sebastian. Raikkonen 34.3.
57	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	You are racing Fernando behind. Fernando is on the [soft]. Four laps to go.
57	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Keep your pace up, we’re P7, we can still hang onto this. Keep your pace up.
57	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Four laps to go, keep pushing mate, you’re doing a good job.
58	Jenson Button	Dave Robson	Button is held up, allowing Hamilton to close. Traffic, Caterhams, I’ve got to get these guys out of the way.
58	Tim Wright	Charles Pic	Blue flag, Button.
58	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Three laps to go, keep pushing.
58	Gianpiero Lambiase	Paul di Resta	Hulkenberg on a charge behind as well.
59	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	You still have your torque magic available which can help you. Two laps remaining at the end of this lap.
59	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Webber three seconds behind now.
59	Marco Schupbach	Nico Hulkenberg	Hulkenberg takes tenth off Di Resta. You get him. Two more laps.
59	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Two laps remaining, Jenson’s really fallen off this tyre.
59	Gianpiero Lambiase	Paul di Resta	Save all KERS for the final corner, please.
60	Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Perez is in tyre trouble immediately in front of Webber.
60	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	You have one lap of KERS overtake.
60	Guillaume Rocquelin	Sebastian Vettel	Last lap. Empty the tank. Come on!
60	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	OK Jenson this is the last lap, we can do this JB.
VL	Christian Horner	Sebastian Vettel	You’ve won your home race! You’ve won the German Grand Prix! Well done Sebastian, great drive.
VL	Sebastian Vettel	Guillaume Rocquelin	Woohoo! Yes, yes, ya! Yeah baby! Woohoo! Thank you boys. That was a tough one. Oh man, they gave me a run for the money. Yes, yes, yes and yes again!
VL	Ross Brawn	Lewis Hamilton	Super effort, Lewis, super effort. We obviously didn’t have the tyres under control for the first half of the race but that’s what we’ve got to work on. Super effort today, welldone.
VL	Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Good fightback there. P5 in the end. Final result: Vettel won, Raikkonen second, Grosjean third, Alonso fourth, then Lewis, then Button, Webber – he had a bad pit stop – then Perez, Nico ninth and Hulkenberg tenth.
VL	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	Great job, JB. Shame about that last lap but nice job, really good weekend. P6, yellow G3 please and normal in-lap procedures.
VL	Jenson Button	Dave Robson	Yeah the Caterhams absolutely screwed us. Absolutely screwed us. I’m glad they fought well for their 19th position. Very impressive. Apart from that guys, yeah, great race. To be fighting up here with these guys? Great performance. I actually don’t think we were helped either by the Safety Car. Great job and hopefully we can just improve from here.
VL	Dave Robson	Jenson Button	Absoltutely you’re right, Jenson, both the Caterhams and the Safety Car didn’t help. High gear please and nice and slowly bring her home. I think P6 it’s not bad, it’s the best we’ve had for a while and it’s a good reward for a great job all weekend. Can I have default-X-two-zero please.
VL	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Excellent Romain, excellent job. Nice one.
VL	Romain Grosjean	Ayao Komatsu	Good job, guys. I think we should have won. Very well done, good job with the car.
VL	Ayao Komatsu	Romain Grosjean	Well done, good pace and good tyre management, well done.
VL	Mark Slade	Kimi Raikkonen	We hear nothing from you on the radio, sorry. Great drive.
VL	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Excellent job catching Perez. We finished P7 after all that.
VL	Christian Horner	Mark Webber	That was a very strong recovery, Mark. I’m really sorry about the wheel nut today but that was a classy recovery.
VL	Simon Rennie	Mark Webber	Mixture two, please.
VL	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Finish P8. Really tough just losing out to Webber at the end but that was a fantastic drive all the way through the race, fantastic effort. From P13 to P8. Brilliant tyre management and pace.
VL	Sergio Perez	Mark Temple	It was not better to go for Plan B?
VL	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	Perez is also given the finishing order of the top ten. No Checo for us the right thing was Plan B. We had good tyre management and tyre life and we took advantage of that.
VL	Sergio Perez	Mark Temple	OK good job.
VL	Mark Temple	Sergio Perez	And can we have default-X-two-zero.

Lap: Refers to lap message was broadcast on. There may be a delay between messages being said and being broadcast. PR = pre-race; FL = formation lap; VL = victory lap.
Message: Repetitive or irrelevant messages omitted. Notes in italics. Highlights in bold.

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82 comments on “2013 German Grand Prix team radio transcript”

Manished
11th July 2013, 13:07
wow, i like how Romain ignore the team order for 3 laps.
1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  11th July 2013, 13:18
  …if you assume he was being disingenuous when he asked for a clarification on lap 55.
  1. Manished
    11th July 2013, 13:32
    he’s not dumb. Message was given on lap 52 and he pretend like he doesnt understand.
    I don’t understand…
    1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      11th July 2013, 16:18
      I don’t know if anyone can make out what he’s saying at that point more clearly – as it says in the transcript it’s not obvious.
      But without knowing that I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion Grosjean was pretending not to understand so he didn’t have to let Raikkonen past. If those were his motives he might as well have kept up the pretence for another five laps and finished second instead of third.
      1. Manished
        11th July 2013, 17:30
        he won’t finish 2nd given his pace in the end compared to Kimi’s. he clearly doesnt want kimi to win. Just like how he nearly took kimi out during Singapore 2012 when team asked him to move over after the SC restart that saw kimi attempting a move and him nearly bang wheel with kimi.
  2. Kanman1
    11th July 2013, 13:35
    same as bahrain 2012.
    The team hesitated to give team order, Eric said afterward that they didn’t want to hurt his feeling. ROFL. The team furhter jeopardize kimi ‘s chances by pitting kimi on the same lap as vettel instead of undercut him for the last pit stop.
2. periwinkle (@shena)
  11th July 2013, 16:28
  GRO, “I do not understand anything, radio is bad”
  I don’t know if the tweeter user rephrased the message or not but based on this, Romain’s radio was also not working fully well.
  1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
    11th July 2013, 21:26
    @shena I think it definitely begins “I don’t understand anything, radio…” but then the next bit is too distorted to make out. Sounds like it has more syllables than “…is bad”. Something like “…is a jumper” but I doubt that’s it!
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
11th July 2013, 13:15
Thanks for the transcript, Keith, there were some interesting excerpts again this time:
Jenson Button: “I’m glad they fought well for their 19th position. Very impressive.”
poor Romain: “Does that mean he’s faster than me?”
Though I do believe it was the German “ja” in:
Sebastian Vettel: “Woohoo! Yes, yes, ya! Yeah baby! Woohoo! Thank you boys.”
And was this a typo, or was Ross congratulating Lewis on a super-duper effort?
Ross Brawn: “Sduper effort today, welldone.”
1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  11th July 2013, 13:29
  @adrianmorse
  “Does that mean he’s faster than me?”
  What strikes me about this is that, despite team orders having been made legal three years ago, teams still do not give their drivers clear, unambiguous instructions to let their team mates pass (or to not overtake their team mates).
  They are still using coded messages: Lotus told Grosjean “Kimi is faster than you” at Silvertone, they didn’t say “Romain, let Kimi past”. Vettel was told ‘multi 21’ at Malaysia, Red Bull didn’t say “Seb, don’t overtake Mark”.
  Three years ago when Ferrari told Massa to give his win up to Alonso at Hockenheim there were some who said people would find team orders more acceptable if teams did not have to disguise their messages, and that lifting the ban on team orders would end that need. But it clearly hasn’t happened: the team orders ban is long gone yet teams are using messages that are just as secretive now as they were before. So much so that in this race Grosjean was able to misunderstand one (taking his words at face value).
  What I want to know is, as team orders are legal now, why do the teams still use such unclear messages?
  It can’t be to disguise their intentions from their rivals as everyone expected Lotus to have Raikkonen let Grosjean pass – Vettel’s engineer even said it was a possiblity before it happened.
  1. Manished
    11th July 2013, 13:31
    the message was clear, “Do not hold him up”
    1. urpo (@vfftw)
      11th July 2013, 14:40
      One could easily interpret that as “I must go faster” if they chose to do so.
    2. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      11th July 2013, 16:08
      the message was clear
      Apparently not given Grosjean had to ask what it meant.
      1. Manished
        11th July 2013, 18:58
        that was a good act by him.
        Team and drivers would had communicate prior to the race just as “multi 21”.
  2. hawkii (@hawkii)
    11th July 2013, 13:48
    Based off Hockenheim, I’d say it’s more of an image and PR thing. The way I remember it, while much of the outcry was about the fact that it broke the rules, there was still quite a few people who were upset that Ferrari were stopping Massa from fighting at a point in the championship where he was still mathematically in it. Greying the message up as they do makes it that little bit more palatable for some people to take.
    1. marsianwalrus (@einariliyev)
      11th July 2013, 14:24
      Besides, the ‘victim’ driver is always likely to respond better to ‘gray’ team-orders than to clear-cut ones. After all, “Do not hold him up” is different to “Let him past”. It allows for the possibility of a defending driver actually going quicker and thus not holding his team-mate up without forsaking the position.
      1. hawkii (@hawkii)
        11th July 2013, 14:39
        Indeed, everyone can save a bit of face that way
      2. AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
        11th July 2013, 18:03
        @einariliyev, I agree with you, I think the teams want to leave the drivers as much autonomy as possible by not giving direct orders until they absolutely have to. A problem from the team’s point of view is that drivers use that freedom to be a bit free in following the instructions. Rosberg, for instance, was instructed not to hold Hamilton up, but he didn’t let him past until a few laps later.
Njack (@njack)
11th July 2013, 13:18
52 Simon Rennie Mark Webber Still two laps of KERS overtake available.
60 Simon Rennie Mark Webber You have one lap of KERS overtake.
What are these 2 messages about? I’ve assumed KERS is used completely on each lap, but these messages indicate otherwise, or does RB’s KERS not handle “overtake” mode being used all the time.
1. hawkii (@hawkii)
  11th July 2013, 13:38
  I noticed that too. Purely guessing, and based on how Red Bull were rumoured to run KERS in the past, possibly they’ve compromised on something within the KERS harvesting, and don’t get the full 6.7s (or whatever it is) per lap.
  Also on Webber, anyone shed any light on “Press the air bottle again” (L13, WEB). I expect it’s something simple and obvious, but I can’t think of anything.
  1. jh1806 (@jh1806)
    11th July 2013, 14:20
    I can only guess the air supply for the pneumatic valves needed a top-up or some repressurising – the cars carry a small cylinder of compressed air for this. It was one of these that exploded on Heidfeld’s car in 2011 when his exhaust set on on fire in the pits.
  2. Scootin159 (@scootin159)
    11th July 2013, 14:47
    I suspect it’s probably something to do with the nitrogen bottle used to run the pneumatic valvetrain. Previously teams would have to pit to recharge this though, as there was no spare tank onboard (that’s why one mechanic carries an air tank on his back). Maybe now they’ve added one due to the short length of the pit stops?
2. Kanman1
  11th July 2013, 14:07
  that overtake button has more to do with short term engine powered up.
  You can’t use it frequently for engine durability or viability.
3. Crackers (@crackers)
  12th July 2013, 4:37
  I believe that in previous seasons, Red Bull were for reliability or weight reasons, running with a KERS system that only delivered 40kW (instead of the maximum 60kW), but over a longer time period.
  My understanding is that this year, their system can be used at 60kW with the Overtake setting, but using this too often can lead to overheating batteries or other systems. The rest of the time they revert to the 40kW system.
  This came up in the Malaysian round as well, with Rocky pleading with Vettel to “stop using kers overtake, the system can’t take it”.
  That is just my understanding of things if anyone has any better information.
nackavich (@nackavich)
11th July 2013, 13:22
I look forward to these articles more than the Grand Prix itself.
1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  11th July 2013, 13:30
  @nackavich Glad to be of service!
2. iFelix
  11th July 2013, 16:43
  totally agree! It kind of shows how the battle unfolded behind the scenes. I was wondering if there were anyway to read these during the race, maybe via a twitter feed?
GeeMac (@geemac)
11th July 2013, 13:31
Lap 7: “Big push now, big, push.” Lap 8: “Rear temps are at the maximum limit now.”
So Mercedes are so marginal on tyre temperature that is Hamilton pushes for one lap at the maximum he overheats the rears…not looking good for them!
sato113 (@sato113)
11th July 2013, 13:48
i hate to post this but you can watch the whole pit radio channel video here:
http://vimeo.com/69875650
password is: vettelsbratwurst
1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  11th July 2013, 16:14
  @sato113 I don’t know whether that includes everything from the pit wall channel and obviously it won’t include messages that were broadcast somewhere other than the pit wall channel, e.g. the main feed.
2. Sam Sam (@samsam)
  11th July 2013, 17:24
  Nice, thanks for posting that, I enjoyed listening to it while watching video in the same time.
3. Str8y
  11th July 2013, 19:50
  Great ! Cheers for posting.
Ncedi
11th July 2013, 13:49
I know they generally speak in which ever language suits but I get the impression Alonso and Stella have all together 10 messages per race (yes, i know there’s definitely more). I have only seen one message from Alonso to Stella and that was after the race in Canada. I think they took that “No more radio” message from a couple years back too literally :-)
Great feature though, thanks Keith!
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
11th July 2013, 14:48
I thought Vettel being told to drink was hilarious. Can’t see Kimi or Alonso being given such a message. That’s to say nothing against Seb himself, just interesting that some engineers feel the need to ‘mother’ their drivers almost! “it’s hot out there!”
1. Scootin159 (@scootin159)
  11th July 2013, 14:53
  Could also just as easily be a coded message….
2. ^Mo^
  11th July 2013, 15:36
  @colossal-squid The drivers have a lot on their minds while driving these cars around. It may seem silly, but if you’re really busy with something, you might forget something mundane as to drink. I know I do when I have a lot of stuff on my mind at work.
  And remember, these are not all the radio messages, just what’s been broadcasted by the FOM.
  1. palmerstoneroad (@palmerstoneroad)
    11th July 2013, 16:37
    I think that a 3 times world champion should be mature enough to manage his drinking needs during the race. Other world champions drivers are not given this kind of message…
    1. ^Mo^
      11th July 2013, 21:40
      @palmerstoneroad it’s not a question of maturity. Anyone is mature enough to drink, but if one is too focused on other things, one might forget to do that.
  2. Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
    11th July 2013, 17:45
    You could take the view that the engineers are micro managing their drivers to an almost ridiculous degree. You often hear Rob Smedley telling Massa exactly when, where and how much KERS to use, or what gear to use going round a corner.
    It’s shocking to me to hear a driver (as an F1 driver, supposedly one of the best in the world), being told how to drive their car, or take a drink.
    1. minnis (@minnis)
      11th July 2013, 20:11
      It’s quite understandable to me. These changes are only going to gain hundredths or even thousandths of a second – something which is obviously important for qualifying, but are drivers really going to notice a change that small?
      In my opinion it’s the same as driver’s giving feedback on new parts. They parts are never perfect, but they have to study the data and the drivers feedback. In the same way, Massa is just being given feedback on his driving.
3. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  11th July 2013, 16:11
  @colossal-squid The same message was given to Rosberg at Silverstone.
  1. Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
    11th July 2013, 17:41
    Yeah, I remember that one as well. Goes to show how much micro-managing of drivers is going on. Whether that’s a good thing, a bad thing or just a ‘thing’ is another story!
    1. celeste (@celeste)
      11th July 2013, 18:17
      @keithcollantine @colossal-squid interesting that in both cases the driver in question, Vettel and Nico, was leading or on his way to win the race
4. Jon Sandor (@jonsan)
  11th July 2013, 18:16
  We don’t know what was said to Alonso. For whatever reason – language issues, or what the FOM choose to release – we never hear much of anything with respect to FA’s radio messages.
  This is a great feature and provides useful insight into what went o in the races. That said, some fans seem to fall into the trap of thinking that these FOM released messages are the full story, when they’re probably 10% of it.
5. Diego (@ironcito)
  11th July 2013, 19:55
  I believe that soldiers are often reminded or even ordered to drink in certain situations. Like ^Mo^ said, when you’re very focused and stressed, you could forget, and your level of thirst may not match your level of dehydration.
6. Glenn (@glennb)
  12th July 2013, 0:22
  I remember a (top) V8 Super Car driver here in Australia saying that the team would often remind him to ‘breathe’ when doing a hot lap around Mount Panorama.
  You want to start worrying when they say stuff like, “Seb, don’t forget your Insulin”, or “Kimi, radio failure. Will send text message. What is your new cell phone number”?
Scootin159 (@scootin159)
11th July 2013, 14:51
L59 (Rosberg): “You still have your torque magic available which can help you. Two laps remaining at the end of this lap.”
What is the “Torque Magic” they’re referring to? I suspect it’s some sort of “overtake” mode in the KERS system, but anyone have any further info?
Valter Tänav (@velodrive)
11th July 2013, 14:54
It’s funny how Kimi is having small problems always, I mean always…even 10 years ago.
1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  11th July 2013, 16:15
  @velodrive He does seem to be having a run of niggling problems at the moment. Not what Lotus want if they’re trying to convince him to stay.
  1. SoerenKaae (@soerenkaae)
    11th July 2013, 17:25
    @keithcollantine
    Not what Lotus want if they’re trying to convince him to stay.
    But look at Red Bull, and Vettels last two runs which have been far from bulletproof. It is not going to put you in a good negotiating position to have gearbox, pit stop and KERS problems either.
    1. celeste (@celeste)
      11th July 2013, 21:25
      @soerenkaae But RBR is not having the same money troubles that Lotus is seem to be having right now
      1. SoerenKaae (@soerenkaae)
        12th July 2013, 1:53
        @celeste
        Obviously NOT paying his salary will be a problem. But I don’t get the impression that Raikkonen is the kind of driver you persuade with money. He has made it quite clear after his comeback that he is only happy when he wins. He will go to the team who gives him the best possibility to win another WDC. Right now he is in a very good position, and it looks like he can more or less choose between two teams in great form.
2. Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
  11th July 2013, 21:44
  Better having small problems and finishing 26 races in the points in a row than having big problems.
  1. Manished
    12th July 2013, 4:46
    small problem you mean like consecutive KERS failure, hydraulic failure, anti roll bar failure in 2012?? and most recently the rear brake malfunctioning in Canada (rear limited track) forcing kimi to move the brake bias to the front and finish the race by relying on front brake solely.??
    1. Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
      12th July 2013, 10:07
      Yes. That’s what I mean. He still finished in the points each of these times. Had instead is engine blown, the alternator failed, the gearbox failed or a wheel come of on track (like happened to most other drivers), it would have been a lot worse, wouldn’t it?
Chris (@tophercheese21)
11th July 2013, 16:15
47. Kimi Raikkonen Mark Slade Raikkonen’s reply to his team is distorted and unintelligible.
Lol classic Kimi.
1. Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
  11th July 2013, 18:07
  is everything, even radio issues, “classic Kimi” these days?
  1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    11th July 2013, 18:30
    Yes.
mantresx (@mantresx)
11th July 2013, 17:25
Perez gained three positions at the start, then passed Button on lap two.
I think it wouldn’t be far fetched to say that Pérez is one of the best starters on the grid, I don’t remember seeing him loose any places this season, and even in the Sauber most of the time he gained one or two positions.
1. Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
  11th July 2013, 18:09
  @mantresx if there’s anything Massa’s doing brilliantly this season is starts, tho. He has another engine in that car at the starts ! at Silverstone it was ridiculous how far he got before turn 1 !
  1. Deej92 (@deej92)
    11th July 2013, 22:17
    I had to look twice when I saw a Ferrari making up places to see the green helmet of Massa rather than Alonso’s blue!
    Perez does seem to have good starts, I agree. I think it was Bahrain and Germany in particular where he had very good starts.
Gwannel Sandiego (@gwan)
11th July 2013, 19:47
Lots of chat after the race about how Kimi’s radio problems hampered strategy decisions. Maybe if, knowing that they were having such problems, he’d just answered his engineer’s question instead of saying “I told you already”, life would have been easier for everyone?
1. periwinkle (@shena)
  11th July 2013, 20:26
  Simon Rennie is shuddering at the thought of Kimi coming to RB…
2. Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
  11th July 2013, 21:46
  exactly what I thought when I read this!
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
11th July 2013, 22:26
Am I the only person who doesn’t like how Kimi talks to his team?
1. Glenn (@glennb)
  12th July 2013, 0:27
  Nope. The guy is just arrogant. Great driver but arrogant. I really don’t get his popularity, characterwise.
2. Manished
  12th July 2013, 4:41
  how is he rude?? he kept replying to the TR and his engineer keep saying he couldn’t hear him for christ sake.
3. Gwannel Sandiego (@gwan)
  12th July 2013, 5:25
  Nope, me neither. Dd you see the interview he did with Lee McKenzie on the bbc (still floating around on their website). I really like Lee and he was just terrible. @manished of course that’s rude, it’s not the engineer’s fault the radio doesn’t work, no need to shout at him.
  1. brny666
    13th July 2013, 12:33
    if its not the engineers fault mate than whos is it?
Ed Marques (@edmarques)
11th July 2013, 23:30
Man, this is brilliant.
(just a note: Kimi is just rude, absolutely ridiculous the way he talks to his team)
1. erix
  12th July 2013, 8:21
  Kimi: That is how you reply to your ex team.
  RBR: Kimi, we need you, Sebastian never reply in the race, we are not woman, we prefer rude replies rather than silence.
  Lol..lol..
tmax (@tmax)
11th July 2013, 23:42
@keith this is a very nice stuff. Looking forward to this as a regular feature after the race.
So funny … that from an outside perspective , the drivers just seem to be driving the car. But looking at the amount of communication that happens back and forth it is very much a collaborative work.
So if Kimi moved to Red Bull , he will be back working with his old pal who was told ” Leave me alon… I know What I am doing” !!!!
Not sure if Rocky was ever sent to collect the Constructors trophy for Red Bull. I like the way he is instructing Vettel. Drink water etc. Vettel also has seem to adapted to him.
Lewis and Webber also seem to be working out together with their counterparts.
1. periwinkle (@shena)
  12th July 2013, 1:44
  @tmax
  Not sure if Rocky was ever sent to collect the Constructors trophy for Red Bull.
  Twice, as far as I know. Recently in Canada,
  Horner “Right, Seb, Rocky is coming up to get up on the podium with you today so look after him, keep him under control.”
  The previous one, in Japan 2009. They were a cute couple there too. :)
  1. tmax (@tmax)
    12th July 2013, 3:53
    @Shena thanks. I really forgot about the Canada 2013. The Japan 2009 pics were cool…
PaulT (@pault)
12th July 2013, 0:01
L4 Massa to Smedley suggests his spin was caused by a gearbox problem. I haven’t heard any suggestion of this before now. Anyone know for sure?
1. Gwannel Sandiego (@gwan)
  12th July 2013, 5:28
  They said so in the BBC commentary I believe, but seemed to have changed their tune to saying he just dropped it later on in website stories, so I dunno if that was based on further information coming to light out of Ferrari or what.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
12th July 2013, 1:33
It would be awsome to have a feature article on the race engineers of the drivers!
No confest
12th July 2013, 7:22
I find it amusing that even when Kimi’s radio isn’t working and he says virtually nothing, people find him rude :)
I think he’s just shouting to be heard and the Finnish monotone is even more noticeable over radio.
I didn’t realise Seb needs as much support over the radio as he seems to: “Rehearse the start in your mind” after the SC. Are they being serious?
1. Poul Winther (@poul)
  12th July 2013, 9:58
  They are being exactly that: very, very serious! If it doesn’t bother Seb to be “mothered” then it’s only added certainty that no mistakes are made. If it was an astronaut on a space walk you wouldn’t find the extra checks strange at all because they cannot afford the slightesterror. Well, Red Bull is simply doing the same. Kimi on the other hand doesn’t like distraction and hence comes along as rude. But remember the T-shirts he gave the entire team after the “leave me alone – I know what I am doing” incident. Rude? No way!
  1. No confest
    12th July 2013, 12:44
    Well, I think RBR might need some Kimi in their operation – at the moment they look like a bunch of gormless sissies. And image is everything in marketing.
Wiz (@alonsowiz)
12th July 2013, 9:24
Why are all messages to/from Alonso in italian, while all the other teams/pilots talk in English?
1. kaits
  12th July 2013, 17:25
  Because they know they wont win anything this season, so they go for the ‘most radio messages in Italian” prize :)