The 75 best team radio highlights of 2015

“There’s lots of places where we can control them,” McLaren boss Ron Dennis reflected at Suzuka. “But we can’t control them sat in a racing car.”

That’s why the drivers’ team radio communications give some of the most compelling insights into what’s really going on in Formula One. Dennis knew this only too well after the toe-curling experience of listening to star driver Fernando Alonso describe Honda’s power unit as a “GP2 engine” in front of the Japanese manufacturer’s top brass at their home race.

There were countless such memorable messages during 2015. Revealing, surprising or just plain amusing, here’s 75 of the best.

Australian Grand Prix

Race

The first of many testy exchanges between Kimi Raikkonen and his engineer came as the Ferrari driver’s first race of the year was brought to an early end by a problem in the pits.

David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	OK stop the car Kimi, stop the car and find a safe place to pull off.
Kimi Raikkonen	David Greenwood	Did you leave the wheel loose?
David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	Unfortunately wheel was not tight. I’m sorry, Kimi.

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Malaysian Grand Prix

Qualifying

Certain types of assistance cannot be provided over the radio – as some drivers were told more frequently than others.

Nico Rosberg	Tony Ross	The guy who’s on first, is he doing dry lines nearly anywhere? Even braking?
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Can’t help you with lines, Nico.

For the second year in a row, Sebastian Vettel was just hundredths of a second away from beating Lewis Hamilton to pole position.

Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Well done, really happy…
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	Not again! Not again, after last year, same! One tenth! Really happy guys. Great reaction in difficult conditions.

Chinese Grand Prix

Race

Red Bull often found themselves having to orchestrate an exchange of positions between their drivers. On this occasion Daniil Kvyat confused Daniel Ricciardo by letting him through and then immediately re-passing.

Daniel Ricciardo	Simon Rennie	Losing a bit of time. Should we box?
Simon Rennie	Daniel Ricciardo	Understood, mate, we are looking into other strategies. Stay out, stay out.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	OK Danny you have Daniel behind, Ricciardo behind. Do not fight him. We are on different strategies.
Daniel Ricciardo	Simon Rennie	He’s left me open then cut me. He’s got to let me by.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	Danny we are on different strategies to Daniel, OK?
Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	Yeah he has to get in the tow.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	Do not hold, do not hold Daniel.

Nico Rosberg felt Hamilton was trying to spoil his race.

Nico Rosberg	Tony Ross	Lewis is driving very slow so get him to speed up.
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Copy that
Nico Rosberg	Tony Ross	If I go closer I destroy my tyres like in my first stint, that’s the problem.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis we’d like to pick the pace up a little bit. Target 43.7. Let us know if that’s possible.

The early optimism at McLaren didn’t last.

Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	OK Fernando that is the end of the race. We finished P12, got both cars home. That’s a good step forward. Had a few difficulties during the race but hopefully had a fight at times.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	Yeah it’s OK guys. First race really for me so good to bring the car home. We know soon we will have a little bit more fun.
Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	Absolutely.

Bahrain Grand Prix

Practice

Sergio Perez and Vettel tangled at turn one.

Sebastian Vettel

Ricardo Adami

I had a failure and then [censored by FOM] Perez took my wheel off. Unbelievable.

Formula One’s youngest driver had an unusual problem which said something about the performance of his engine.

Max Verstappen	Xevi Pujolar	Why is it so difficult to spin the rear tyres in a Formula One car? I don’t understand.

Later in the season Force India pulled well clear of Sauber, but at this stage one of them was an irritation for Nico Hulkenberg.

Brad Joyce	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Ericsson.
Erik Schuivens	Marcus Ericsson	So Hulkenberg ahead left the pits on [medium] again, he’s our main target.
Nico Hulkenberg	Brad Joyce	That idiot Ericsson almost running into the back of me every time.

Despite this last-lap scare Hamilton secured his third win in four races.

Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	BBW [brake-by-wire] fault.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	So just caution on the brakes, you’ve got one lap remaining, you’ve got plenty of gap. Gap to Raikkonen 6.2. So got plenty of space Lewis, plenty of space.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	My temperatures’ dropping.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Yeah they’re coming down Lewis so not a problem. Just look after them, not long to go.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Great stuff Lewis, get in there mate. Well done, great race. Bit of a scare at the end there.

Spanish Grand Prix

Practice

More frustrations for Raikkonen on two separate occasions during practice.

Kimi Raikkonen	David Greenwood	What are you guys doing? First we go out then we go directly in the traffic, that should not be even possible.
David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	Confirm, we have a wrong setting.
Kimi Raikkonen	David Greenwood	Excellent. How can we be in wrong settings?
David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	I don’t have an answer.

Race

Disagreements about strategy were a frequent point of debate.

Brad Joyce	Nico Hulkenberg	Copy that Nico. The only plus point is the hard is looking poor at the moment.
Nico Hulkenberg	Brad Joyce	No, don’t speak on the straight.
Brad Joyce	Nico Hulkenberg	Well you’ll have to wait for your answer, then. The hard is looking poor at the moment.
Nico Hulkenberg	Brad Joyce	Fair enough having the new now but should have had the new now, I would have gone through these guys.
Brad Joyce	Nico Hulkenberg	Right, this is what you’ve got, so let’s make the best of it now mate.

Monaco Grand Prix

Qualifying

McLaren’s best chance of getting into Q3 all season was thwarted when Rosberg brought out the yellow flags, forcing Jenson Button to abandon his run.

Jenson Button

Tom Stallard

That’s painful. Such a shame, guys. We were on for a reasonable result, there.

Race

Romain Grosjean fumed at being hit by Verstappen.

Romain Grosjean

Julien Simon-Chautemps

He’s a [censored by FOM] that Verstappen. That was stupid.

An excruciating slip-up for Hamilton in Monaco was caught on the radio. Formula One Management took the unprecedented step of publishing an extended excerpt of the discussion after the race, allowing us to hear exactly how a certain victory had been thrown away.

Hamilton briefly stopped at Portier corner on his way back to the pits, and a new radio message revealed recently showed Mercedes were concerned he wouldn’t come to the podium afterwards.

Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	So just a reminder you are in your Safety Car… Virtual Safety Car. So look at your dash, look at the boards, keep positive, stay positive and you are staying out.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	So we are staying out and you are staying positive.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis a Safety Car has been deployed.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Are you sure it’s the best thing to stay out? These tyres have lost all their temperature. Everyone’s going to be on [super-softs] now.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Nope, we will be boxing the end of the lap, so just stay positive. We are going to go up one-and-a-half turns for the [super-soft] tyre, unless you tell us different.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Just give us pit confrirm.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK so we are now staying out, staying out. Just confirm on the radio.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Guys, that’s not good. These tyres have lost all their temperature. Everyone is going to be on [super-softs] now.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK, copy copy, box box.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	So cancel the brake magic. Caution on pit entry. RS modes. Cancel RS. Watch the line on pit exit.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	What’s happened, guys? Guys, what’s happened?
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis, so we got caught behind… So we’re just getting a look now, just having a look now. We’re just reviewing the video. So stick the brake warming on, let’s get some temperature into these brakes.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis so we have lost the marshalling system so we may need to do something to override DRS.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	I’ve lost this race, haven’t I?
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Not if they lose all their tyre temp. They’re on [soft] tyre, you’ve got very good [super-soft] on the car at the moment.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	How many laps left?
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	We’ve got 13 laps remaining.

Raikkonen objected to Ricciardo’s forceful pass at Mirabeau.

Kimi Raikkonen

David Greenwood

Did you see what that guy did? He just pushed me off the, off his front. He just hit me then I went wide, so, that’s not very nice. If that’s not a penalty then nothing is penalty. You can push each other off the line.

Red Bull orchestrated another exchange of positions in Monaco, this time to give Ricciardo the chance to attack Hamilton. It failed, so he was told to let Kvyat through again. Part of the exchange below was not originally broadcast during the race, and can be he heard on the official 2015 season review video:

Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	Daniel behind on fresh options, on a different strategy, OK? Do not hold him up.
Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	OK, good for him.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	No, no, Dany, Dany, we will switch it back if he doesn’t make any progress, OK? We’ll switch it back, but at the moment he’s on a different strategy, so do not hold him up.
Simon Rennie	Daniel Ricciardo	OK Daniel we will be released to attack the cars ahead.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	OK, good lad.
Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	Is Daniel making any progress?
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	You don’t need to worry about that at this stage, Dany. You focus on getting to the end as quickly as you can.
Simon Rennie	Daniel Ricciardo	This is the last lap. If we don’t overtake any cars we will be asked to give the position back to Kvyat.
Simon Rennie	Daniel Ricciardo	Yeah, thank you Daniel, it’s important we do this.
Daniel Ricciardo	Simon Rennie	Understood.
Simon Rennie	Daniel Ricciardo	OK mte, thanks for your discipline there.

Canadian Grand Prix

Practice

Mercedes got another tyre call wrong at the very next day of running after their Monaco embarrassment. Both drivers were sent onto a very wet track in Canada on intermediate tyres, and Hamilton crashed as a result.

Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Let us know if you think it’s X-wet [extreme wet tyre] conditions – it looks wet out there.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	So Lewis we think it’s X-wet conditions.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Aquaplaned.
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	If you think it’s too dangerous then you can box.
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Just box, box, we’ll stop.
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Caution, caution turn ten, Lewis has gone straight on. Brake early.

Kvyat had a case of too much information.

Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	Hamilton P1, 1’16.6
Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	I don’t need to know this!

Button was vexed by a common team radio aggravation.

Jenson Button

Tom Stallard

I don’t know why but every time you talk to me it’s in a corner. There are long enough straights here!

And Verstappen got a big surprise.

Max Verstappen	Xevi Pujolar	Woah, I heard someone else from another team on my radio!
Xevi Pujolar	Max Verstappen	Copy that, Max.

Qualifying

Struggling with an MGU-H problem, Vettel narrowly failed to make it into Q2.

Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	OK P16 for three-tenths.
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	[Censored by FOM]

Meanwhile his team mate felt the team’s procedures needed sharpening up.

David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	These will be the race tyres.
Kimi Raikkonen	David Greenwood	These things you have to tell straight away. I do half a lap pushing for an extra lap then we decided these are the race tyres.
David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	Yeah understood Kimi I was trying to deal with Rosberg traffic, my mistake.

Race

Hamilton showed his appreciation for the team’s efforts after a trying few days.

Lewis Hamilton

Peter Bonnington

Don’t know if you boys can hear me. I just wanted to say a big thank-you for all the hard work this weekend putting the car back together. Didn’t get to see you all individually but really appreciate it.

Raikkonen spun at the old pits hairpin for the second year in a row and suspecpted there was a similar root cause.

Kimi Raikkonen	David Greenwood	That, exactly same happened last year. Suddenly it just the K kicks in.
David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	Understood, understood, just get back in the rhythm.

Grosjean collided with the Manor of Will Stevens and didn’t immediately realise he had only himself to blame.

Romain Grosjean	Julien Simon-Chautemps	He hit me! He hit me! This is not possible.
Will Stevens	Josh Peckett	Box, box, I’ve got a puncture, the front-right, Grosjean hit me.
Josh Peckett	Will Stevens	Understood mate. In now, in now.
Will Stevens	Josh Peckett	He’s so stupid, he comes across in front of me every single time he overtakes. Where does he want me to go, off the track?
Josh Peckett	Will Stevens	OK understood, mate. We’ll have a look into it.

Austrian Grand Prix

Qualifying

In Austria it was Raikkonen’s turn to drop out in Q1 on a damp but drying track.

David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	We’ve been bumped.
Kimi Raikkonen	David Greenwood	What?
David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	We’re P17.
Kimi Raikkonen	David Greenwood	How the [censored by FOM] that is possible?

Race

While Mercedes took another one-two, a slow pit stop for Vettel put Felipe Massa on the podium.

Dave Robson	Felipe Massa	Fantastic job Felipe. Great job those last few laps, brilliant all weekend.
Felipe Massa	Dave Robson	Yeah guys, very good I’m so happy. I’m so happy with how we raced, when we kept behind then we picked up the others so we didn’t make mistake. Well done guys, well done.
Dave Robson	Felipe Massa	Thanks Felipe and as I said absolutely fantastic job you’ve driven brilliantly there. Did all the work on Friday, that’s paid off. Nice work.
Rob Smedley	Felipe Massa	Well done mate that was an absolutely great weekend. Really proud of you. I said to you a few races ago, not bad for an old man. Good lad, thank you.
Felipe Massa	Dave Robson	Yep. Not bad for an old man.

British Grand Prix

Race

The Williams pair made phenomenal starts at Silverstone and led the race – but Valtteri Bottas was anxious to demote Massa.

Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	Instruction: No racing your team mate for now.
Valtteri Bottas	Jonathan Eddolls	I have more pace.
Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	Copy. No racing for now. We’ll keep you advised.
Valtteri Bottas	Jonathan Eddolls	Can I overtake? I can do it in the back straight. Tell me.
Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	Yes.
Valtteri Bottas	Jonathan Eddolls	Repeat.
Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	Yes, you can.
Valtteri Bottas	Jonathan Eddolls	That was too late.
Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	It has to be a very clean move,. And you need to pull away when you are in front. Clean move.
Valtteri Bottas	Jonathan Eddolls	Copy.
Dave Robson	Felipe Massa	OK Felipe so Valtteri is going to try and attack you on the back straight, he will try and attack you with DRS.

A superbly judged call for intermediate tyres secured the win for Hamilton.

Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Keep us advised on the tyres, we may go for inter.
Nico Rosberg	Tony Ross	It’s all good.
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Copy.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	I’ve got no grip on these tyres, guys.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Copy that, Lewis. So we are ready for…
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Box this lap, box this lap.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Ready for you box box. Menu tyre position three, RS modes.
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	You need to let us know how it is, Lewis has pitted for inters.

Hungarian Grand Prix

Qualifying

McLaren’s diagnosis that Alonso’s power unit problem would not cause a problem soon proved false – he ended up pushing his car back to the pits. Things would get better for him, however.

Mark Temple

Fernando Alonso

OK Fernando we understand the issue. OK to keep running it shouldn’t affect us.

Race

Hamilton went off on the first lap and blamed his team mate for changing his line.

Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Nico crossed over my line there, pushed me wide.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Nice moved back onto… You know you’re supposed to only be able to move once.

Red Bull pulled the switch again, and this time Kvyat was especially reluctant to play along.

Simon Rennie	Daniel Ricciardo	Are you being held up? What is your status?
Daniel Ricciardo	Simon Rennie	Yeah held up a lot.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	Do not hold Ricciardo behind.
Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	Well I’m also stuck behind them.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	Yeah, understood. Do not hold Ricciardo though, Danny, please. Do not hold Ricciardo. Copy?
Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	Well I do not. I’m stuck behind Hulkenberg, I am trying to pass.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	Danny, Ricciardo is on a different strategy. Let’s fall back into our own race now, please.
Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	Well my tyres are not great shape. So maybe we might consider switching our strategy as well.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	OK. Let Ricciardo through please Danny.
Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	Well I am in the DRS of Hulkenberg [censored by FOM] guys.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	Danny please let Ricciardo through.
Simon Rennie	Daniel Ricciardo	OK mate so we’ve got to make the most of it now, let’s get stuck in.

Rosberg ran ahead of Hamilton for much of the race and was anxious to cover him off strategically.

Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	So Nico we need to find more lap time. Lewis will be going to the [medium] tyre, possibly earlier than you.
Nico Rosberg	Tony Ross	I’ll go to the [medium] as well, then.
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Nico at the moment the pit wall are not inclined to do that.

Vettel dedicated his victory to Jules Bianchi, the former Ferrari development driver who died in the week before the race.

Maurizio Arrivabene	Sebastian Vettel	Yes, Sebastian, yes! P1! Another flag in Maranello. Well done!
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	Grazie ragazzi! Grazie. Forza Ferrari. Merci Jules, cette victoire est pour toi. [Thanks Jules, this victory is for you]. You will always be in our hearts. We know that sooner or later Jules would have been a part of this team. Grazie, guys.

Belgian Grand Prix

Practice

A familiar situation for Lotus.

Pastor Maldonado	Mark Slade	I crash. Lose the back end of the car.
Mark Slade	Pastor Maldonado	Is the car damaged? I take it it is.
Pastor Maldonado	Mark Slade	Yeah.

On Saturday the other Lotus driver was livid after Raikkonen slowed in front of him.

Romain Grosjean

Julien Simon-Chautemps

Raikkonen is dangerous, it’s very dangerous what he did to me. Very, very dangerous.

Race

Williams committed the unusual mistake of fitting two different types of tyre to one car – a violation of the rules.

Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	We have a drive through penalty. Just drive through the pits and back out.
Valtteri Bottas	Jonathan Eddolls	Copy.
Valtteri Bottas	Jonathan Eddolls	What was the issue?
Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	Your right-rear is a [medium] tyre, all others are [soft]. Mix-up in pit stop. Crack on with the race, we can still gain some good points.

Vettel ran a long stint on his tyres and was told they would last – but his right-rear blew up on the penultimate lap. Again, part of the message below was not previously broadcast:

Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Tyres, from the data, looks pretty good to go to the end. […]
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	Saw what happened?
Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Yeah, copy.
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	Tyres were on the limit, yes, but for [censored by FOM] sake.

Grosjean scored an emotional podium finish for Lotus.

Julien Simon-Chautemps	Romain Grosjean	Fantastic job, mate, fantastic job. P3, well done. That’s incredible, one of the best races of your career, mate. Incredible, I’m so proud.
Romain Grosjean	Julien Simon-Chautemps	Well done, well done you superstar.
Julien Simon-Chautemps	Romain Grosjean	Fantastic, well done mate.

Italian Grand Prix

Practice

Worrying symptoms for Hulkenberg:

Nico Hulkenberg

Brad Joyce

I have a wet bum and it smells like petrol.

Race

Hamilton’s cruise to another win was interrupted when Mercedes learned he might be given a time penalty. He was urged to increase his pace, but they were reluctant to say why.

Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	So we need to open this gap right up. Do what we can you’ve got seven laps remaining. OK Lewis we can go strat mode three, we need to pull a gap. Don’t ask questions, just execute.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis let’s just have some ‘Hammertime’ lap times. We just need some good lap times now. No need to ask questions, we’ll just explain it at the end.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	I’ve not got a lot of pace in me.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK copy that. Just five laps to go. That pace is good, don’t take any risks.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	What do I need to do? I can’t get much quicker.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	What you’re doing is great, Lewis. That’s all we need. Just stabilise on pace.

Singapore Grand Prix

Practice

Button wasn’t sure about the reconfiguration of the Singapore track.

Jenson Button

Tom Stallard

The new bit of circuit, the safety there is questionable. It’s bumpy, obviously no run-off.

Qualifying

Ferrari knew they had an opportunity to win in Singapore but Red Bull were close and Vettel wasn’t leaving anything to chance. In Q2 he was unwilling to use any more life from the tyres he would start the race on.

Ricardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Box Sebastian. Pit entry test.
Sebastian Vettel	Ricardo Adami	Negative. Saving the tyres.

Race

Sure enough Ricciardo was pushing Vettel in the race when the Safety Car gave the Ferrari driver a break.

Daniel Ricciardo	Simon Rennie	He got lucky didn’t he?
Simon Rennie	Daniel Ricciardo	Yes mate.

Meanwhile Hamilton’s only technical retirement of the year convenently coincided with a rare uncompetitive showing by Mercedes – though they believed they could have won.

Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	It’s really getting a lot worse now, I’m slowing right down. You need to stop me. Brakes are getting cold and everything, I can’t
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Yeah affirm Lewis, copy that. We see it’s all dropping off. Box box. We are going to try and power cycle the car in the pit box. It will be RS modes, stop in the box, go to neutral and switch off.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK so we are going to retire the car.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Thanks for persevering with us Lewis. We were trying our best to get you back into life.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Yeah its a real shame man. I think I had the pace to win.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Yeah we think we had the strategy to win as well, mate.

Vettel was alarmed to discover someone had wandered onto the track during the race, which brought out another Safety Car.

Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Ricciardo 4.5 seconds behind.
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	There’s a fan on the track. There’s a person on the circuit between 13 and 14.
Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Box Sebastian, box for [soft].

Button was in a wry mood at McLaren.

Jenson Button	Tom Stallard	At last we’ve got a break with Safety Cars. Well, we’d’ve got a break last time if we didn’t balls it up.
Tom Stallard	Jenson Button	OK Jenson so manage the temperatures. We want you to save as much fuel as possible and we need some hard braking events to keep the temperature in the front brakes.
Jenson Button	Tom Stallard	And rub your tummy and pat your head? Alright we can do this.

Ricciardo had to settle for second, but he wasn’t going to let Vettel have the fastest lap.

Simon Rennie	Daniel Ricciardo	Excellent job. Very good job today mate, pace was excellent, you did get the fastest lap of the race. We might have had a bit more of a chance without the Safety Cars. You did a very good job.
Daniel Ricciardo	Simon Rennie	Yep, understood. Cheers guys. Good race car. Think we got a bit unlucky but anyway thank you.
Christian Horner	Daniel Ricciardo	Very good job, Daniel, really professional job there. You’ll upset your former team mate by the fact you got fastest lap so you can let him know that. But very professional drive. You two were in a class of your own today.
Daniel Ricciardo	Christian Horner	Thanks Christian. I’ll give him a bit of shit.
Simon Rennie	Daniel Ricciardo	He was certainly trying as well, mate. You pipped him him by about… I’ll let you know the number.

Japanese Grand Prix

Race

After a superb effort in qualifying at Suzuka, Alonso was literally powerless to prevent his rivals passing him on the straight. He did not spare the blushes of the assembled Honda executives at their home event in a series of radio messages.

Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	Balance OK, but it is driving like on ice. Poor grip. I’m caught on the straight like a GP2. This is embarrassing, very embarrassing. I do my best.
Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	Yep, understood, we know you will, you’re still P11, plenty to aim for.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	GP2 engine, GP2!

Alonso wasn’t the only driver frustrated by his engine – Red Bull’s struggle with Renault continued.

Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	Can I [censored by FOM] use the overtake button guys or not?
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	Dani, negative on the overtake button, negative on the overtake button. Just do as we say. Multi 10 position 12.
Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	Which position, sorry, I was busy.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	OK let’s have multi 10 position 9. Dani so just confirm we cannot use the overtake button. We are unable to use the overtake button for the rest of this race for reliability issues. Any changes we make are to offer you a greater opportunity to pass the car ahead. So…
Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	OK, understood.

Russian Grand Prix

Race

Button made sure the stewards were alert to Sainz’s transgression.

Jenson Button	Tom Stallard	Why is Sainz not getting a penalty? Is Sainz getting a penalty for crossing the white line on entrance?
Tom Stallard	Jenson Button	Stand by Jenson, I’ll investigate.

The gallows humour continued in the cockpit of the other McLaren.

Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	And Fernando we are racing Massa behind to the end.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	I love your sense of humour.
Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	Well maybe we can have some fun trying, anyway.

Vettel had another fright from a person on the track.

Sebastian Vettel

Riccardo Adami

OK now it’s clear but we’ve got a very brave Russian running across the track. Track is clear now.

Bottas passed Perez to take third on the penultiamte lap – only to be assaulted from behind by Raikkonen.

Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	Excellent we’ve got one more lap, stay in this mode. One more lap.
David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	Last lap Kimi, last lap, all or nothing.
David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	So no puncture, Kimi, bring it home.
Valtteri Bottas	Jonathan Eddolls	What the [censored by FOM] did he do?
Jonathan Eddolls	Valtteri Bottas	Copy. Kill the engine.

United States Grand Prix

Race

Raikkonen was unhappy with Verstappen’s defensive driving.

Kimi Raikkonen	David Greenwood	That guy keeps pushing me off the circuit every time, when I’m next to him. So if that’s legal then I will do the same next time.
David Greenwood	Kimi Raikkonen	Understood. We’re checking with Charlie.

The race began on a wet track and Hamilton was eager to know where he could find an advantage.

Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Is there a different line into T1 because I don’t know, braking is quite slippery, it’s easy to lock up, are drivers going deep?
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	I’m afraid I can’t comment on line, Lewis.

Having been hit by Massa on the first lap, Alonso was in favour of parking late in the race. He said much the same during the season finale.

Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	Strange vibration coming from the engine on the power. Anything to do with the [unclear] deformation, maybe?
Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	All is OK, we think, for the moment. We will keep checking. Keep going. Keep focused.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	It is not ok, no power. What we can do?
Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	For the moment nothing. We are still investigating. I’ll let you know if there’s something we can.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	Ok I’ll come in.
Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	Fernando stay out, we’re still in the points.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	Not any more. In lap.
Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	Stay out, we are still in the points.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	OK when I am not in the points, I come in.

Hamilton won the race and with it clinched his third world championship.

Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis. I think you’ve done it mate. Just need to see what Nico does. That is it! world champion pal! world champion.
Paddy Lowe	Lewis Hamilton	Three times world champion, Lewis!
Unknown	Lewis Hamilton	You’ve only gone and done it, mate!
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	I’m feeling it, pal. I’m feeling it.
Paddy Lowe	Lewis Hamilton	How good does that sound, Lewis? Three times world champion.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	It’s the greatest moment of my life. Thank you guys so much. That was… I’m just so greatful, thank you. To my family, I love you all. Thank you.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Just bring it home Lewis. We got to look after the race car, mate, we’re going to need it next week. So let’s just look after the car, mate, and have some fun tonight.

Vettel was disappointed to learn his slim championship chances were at an end.

Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Yes, P3, well done.
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	Sorry I tried. I was too far away.
Maurizio Arrivabene	Sebastian Vettel	Bravo Seb, una grande gara, complimentia [a great race, well done].
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	Grazie ragazzi [thanks boys]. The car was great. Even if we didn’t have preparation. Is the championship game over?
Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Yes, affirmative.
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	Ah shit. The first part I should have done a better job judging the conditions, it was ready for dries a bit sooner. After that is was OK, we did everything we could. Grazie.

Mexican Grand Prix

Race

After tangling with Ricciardo on the first lap, Vettel returned to the pits with a puncture, using the run-off in several places. Alonso was not impressed.

Fernando Alonso

Mark Temple

Vettel is cutting all over the circuit, all the circuit. Very dangerous maneouver, just arrived to the pit lane. Vettel very dangerous maneouver.

It was a poor race for Vettel and he was disinclined to help the flying Mercedes.

Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Blue flag to Hamilton behind you, let him by.
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	I am quicker than him.
Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Let him by now please. Let him by now or we get a penalty, let him by now and then stay behind him.
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	But I am opening the gap to him.
Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	No you are not, from race direction, so let him by.
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	OK, OK copy.

When Mercedes decided to give both drivers an extra pit stop to look after their tyres, Hamilton spied an opportunity to stay ahead of his team mate. It was the first of three races in which Hamilton would try to use a different strategy to get in front of his team mate, but ultimately lost out.

Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	We are going to convert to Plan B, converting to Plan B, let us know if you need a flap adjust.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Can I ask why?
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	We are worried about wear, we are worried about wear on these tyres, we are down to the canvas, so box this lap, box this lap.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Bono these tyres are still good.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	So this is for safety reasons Lewis, so box this lap. So Lewis you will be boxing next lap, box next lap.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Bono you need to check his tyres, my tyres feel good.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	So Lewis we were down to zero on the first set. If we go longer on this set, we will be down to zero if not worse. So this is boxing end of this lap, instruction.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	I think that’s the wrong call, but I am coming in.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK we will debate that later, so boxing at the end of this lap.

Felipe Nasr had been frustrated by brake problems over and over during 2015, and made his unhappiness plain after retiring in Mexico with a potentially dangerous fault.

Felipe Nasr	Craig Gardiner	My brakes are finished.
Craig Gardiner	Felipe Nasr	Understood Felipe.
Felipe Nasr	Craig Gardiner	Yeah guys, this situation is no good, it could have been end of straight.
Craig Gardiner	Felipe Nasr	Let’s speak later about that Felipe, alright? OK, see you soon.

Kvyat narrowly missed out on a podium finish.

Daniil Kvyat	Gianpiero Lambiase	Aargh [censored by FOM] we lost the [censored by FOM] podium.
Gianpiero Lambiase	Daniil Kvyat	Yeah bad luck Dani. I’m sure there wasn’t anything you could have done without that.

Brazilian Grand Prix

Race

Once again Hamilton was stuck behind Rosberg and wanted Mercedes to change his tactics.

Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis I think converting to plan B would be a bad idea, that would drop us behind both Ferraris who are still doing 16.6s.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	OK can you get me on a different strategy then somehow? Impossible to overtake. I’m faster but I can’t get close.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Practice

In Singapore Vettel celebrated his victory with a song, and during the second practice session in Abu Dhabi he sang the Italian version of Happy Birthday for his race engineer.

Sebastian Vettel	Ricardo Adami	I think I forgot something this morning: Tanti auguri a te, tanti auguri a te, tanti auguri a Ricky, tanti auguri a te! Happy birthday, Ricky!
Ricardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Thank you very much!

An increasingly frustrating season at Lotus hadtaken its toll on Grosjean.

Romain Grosjean

Julien Simon-Chautemps

I keep telling you the same thing, it’s undriveable.

Laughter on the radio at Toro Rosso as Sainz produced an especially good lap.

Carlos Sainz Jnr?	Marco Matassa	It was a good one, no?
Marco Matassa	Carlos Sainz Jnr?	Outstanding!

Alonso had first come across Stevens in Abu Dhabi 12 months earlier – once again he was unimpressed with his rival’s driving.

Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	Who was in front of me in the last three corners?
Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	That was Stevens and Grosjean.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	Idiot.

Race

Alonso took issue with his penalty at the start of the final race.

Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	Fernando, we have been given a drive-through, you must take it this lap.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	Why?
Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	Is is because the incidient in the start with Nasr, let’s get back there and focus on going to the end and see what happens, maybe a safety car.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	Is our fault?
Mark Temple	Fernando Alonso	So, the penalty is for hitting Maldonado, rather than the initial contact with Nasr.
Fernando Alonso	Mark Temple	I had the front tyres around me during the end, so I land in Maldonado, I landed into him, so…

Toro Rosso swapped their drivers to get Verstappen ahead, but he locked up soon afterwards and spoiled his tyres, leading them to reverse the call.

Max Verstappen	Xevi Pujolar	I’m really losing time.
Xevi Pujolar	Max Verstappen	Copy that, Max.
Xevi Pujolar	Max Verstappen	OK Max we will be revs now, revs. You get ahead and you need to close the gap to Kvyat.
Marco Matassa	Carlos Sainz Jnr	OK, Carlos, revs, revs, revs this lap, turn eight.
Carlos Sainz Jnr	Marco Matassa	He is not close enough, next lap, I leave him by.
Marco Matassa	Carlos Sainz Jnr	Let him by this lap, let him by this lap please. Do it now, do it now.
Max Verstappen	Xevi Pujolar	I have a massive flat spots. I have to box.
Xevi Pujolar	Max Verstappen	OK, Max, box this lap, box. Let Carlos pass behind.

Did Hamilton think the same when Vettel held him up in Mexico?

Riccardo Adami	Sebastian Vettel	Alonso in front of you, blue flag.
Sebastian Vettel	Riccardo Adami	I mean he must really hate me, I don’t know what’s wrong with him. I’m losing a second just because of that.

Another attempted strategic gamble by Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	If I was to back off right now and look after these tyres to the end, how much – how slow can I go per lap?
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	Lewis I think that will be pretty much impossible to do. I think what we are currently planning is the way to go.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	Please give me the calculations.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	It’s not even worth working the numbers, it would be a real gamble and it wouldn’t pay off I guarantee it.
Lewis Hamilton	Peter Bonnington	The reason I’m asking is these tyres still feel good.

After his strategy gamble failed to pay off, Hamilton took the more contentious route of using a more powerful engine mode when he wasn’t supposed to.

Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis, that will be strat mode ten, strat mode ten, if they do not comply than we will just turn Nico to strat six.
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	So Nico, go strat six.
Peter Bonnington	Lewis Hamilton	And we will have strat mode ten strat mode ten, that is an instruction.
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	And strat ten, Nico.

Rosberg ended his season on a high but Mercedes rationed the celebratory doughnuts.

Nico Rosberg	Tony Ross	Woohoo! Awesome guys, thanks for this end of the season, it was really great.
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Great job Nico.
Nico Rosberg	Tony Ross	Thanks very much, can I do some doughnuts?
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	Er, we’d rather save the fuel.
Nico Rosberg	Tony Ross	Well you tell me, I want to do them, can I do them or not?
Tony Ross	Nico Rosberg	OK, do one doughnut.

2015 F1 season review

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