2016 Australian Grand Prix team radio transcript

2016 Australian Grand Prix

23rd March 2016, 12:1823rd March 2016, 12:40 | Written by Keith Collantine

F1 drivers played down the effect of F1’s new radio restrictions but far fewer messages were broadcast during Sunday’s race.

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were of the view that the ban made little to no difference. However both experienced the consequence of the new regulations during the race: Hamilton was heard being told he couldn’t be given one instruction due to the new restrictions and Sebastian Vettel referred to a similar, unbroadcast discussion.

As always builing up a true picture of how much radio traffic goes on is difficult because FOM does not broadcast all of them. Because of this the total number of messages broadcast has varied considerably from race to race in the past.

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There were noticeably fewer radio messages during practice and qualifying last weekend, and in the race just 87 were noted. That’s a drop of over 100 compared to the same grand prix two years ago. However we saw quieter races than this before the latest restrictions – the 2014 Italian Grand Prix had just 75 messages.

Therefore it may be that the effect of the restrictions was exaggerated by FOM having one of their periodic quiet races for radio traffic. We should get a better idea over the coming rounds how big an effect the new rules have had.

It’s interesting to note that many of the messages heard in the last race before the new restrictions came in would still be legal under the current rules.

Following concerns raised by some including Christian Horner that the restrictions would block some of the more interesting radio discussions we’re heard in recent years, the new radio restrictions were watered down at the last minute. Drivers were once more allowed to discuss strategies with their engineers.

Perhaps someone should have told Toro Rosso, as they had one very unhappy Max Verstappen on their hands after a strategic mix-up. Most teams follow the practice of not disadvantaging whichever of their drivers is ahead by pitting the other first but Toro Rosso did just that.

Sainz undoubtedly made a smart call to pit when he did, but according to Verstappen he had previously told the team more than once he wanted to come in. These messages were not broadcast. Teams are still allowed to call their drivers into the pits, and the fact this didn’t happen goes some way towards explaining Verstappen’s expletive–ridden fury.

Whatever effect the radio restrictions have had, it hasn’t stopped the team’s discussions giving some revealing insights into what’s really going on.

2016 Australian Grand Prix team radio transcript

Lap*	Driver	Message
PR	To Esteban Gutierrez	Wind is on the low side, across on the main straight, as has been for all these days but much lower intensity. So everything looks alright.
PR	To Jolyon Palmer	Extra formation lap, Jo.
PR	From Jolyon Palmer	Copy that
1	From Kevin Magnussen	Puncture, puncture.
1	To Kevin Magnussen	OK understood box this lap.
2	To Sebastian Vettel	That was awesome. Keep your head down.
3	From Esteban Gutierrez	I got problems with the engine.
3	To Esteban Gutierrez	Try to push on the straight.
3	From Esteban Gutierrez	OK, now it’s working.
3	To Esteban Gutierrez	So keep going, all fine now.
4	To Sebastian Vettel	OK wind is stable and low-ish and overcast. Track temperature is dropping.
6	To Kevin Magnussen	Respect the blue flags.
6	From Kevin Magnussen	I am respecting the blue flags, they’re everywhere you know.
6	To Kevin Magnussen	Understood Kev.
10	From Lewis Hamilton	Hamilton was stuck behind Verstappen. I can’t get past this guy.
10	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis you can just take it easy and we’ll extend the stint.
13	From Lewis Hamilton	There’s go to be another strategy, guys, I can’t be stuck behind this guy for ages.
13	To Lewis Hamilton	Yeah copy that Lewis we’ll try and go long on this stint.
15	From Kimi Raikkonen	Come on box me, my fronts are really suffering.
18	To Nico Rosberg	The race was stopped after Gutierrez and Alonso crashed. Red flag Nico, red flag.
18	To Nico Rosberg	So you’ll be going into the pit lane and lining up.
18	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK so we’ll get a ten-minute notice so you can jump out.
19	To Esteban Gutierrez	Are you OK?
19	From Esteban Gutierrez	Oh, [Censored by FOM]. Yeah I’m OK. Is he OK?
19	To Esteban Gutierrez	Yeah Fernando is fine.
21	From Lewis Hamilton	A previous message involving Hulkenberg gives an indication of the type of problem Hamilton had. How do I turn the alarm off?
21	To Lewis Hamilton	I’m afraid I can’t say, Lewis.
23	From Kimi Raikkonen	Something happened, I broke something.
23	To Kimi Raikkonen	OK understood Kimi, pull off where it’s safe.
28	To Marcus Ericsson	OK Marcus we have a drive-through penalty. Box this lap for a drive-through.
28	From Marcus Ericsson	What?
28	To Marcus Ericsson	It was for working on the car. There was a tyre blanket stuck and were trying to remove it.
28	From Marcus Ericsson	OK I’ll box this lap.
32	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	Sainz, who was running behind Verstappen, pitted before him which helped him get in front of his team mate. Guys we need to stop, stop.
34	From Max Verstappen	This message indicates some earlier messages were not broadcast. How many times do I have to say I’ve got problems with my tyres? I wanted to pit first. [Censored by FOM]
38	From Max Verstappen	Can I try to get past?
38	To Max Verstappen	Yes.
39	From Max Verstappen	Let me try because this takes too long.
39	To Max Verstappen	Let’s do it.
39	From Max Verstappen	Verstappen was stuck behind Sainz who had Palmer in front of him. Come on, we have to do something.
40	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	OK Carlos, push.
40	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	I am pushing, don’t tell me to push.
40	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	Yes otherwise we will swap next lap.
41	From Marcus Ericsson	Broken down. Something broken in the rear drive.
41	To Marcus Ericsson	On the drivetrain, question?
41	From Marcus Ericsson	Yeah drivetrain is broken.
41	To Marcus Ericsson	Is the car still moving?
41	From Marcus Ericsson	Yeah.
47	To Max Verstappen	Sainz overtook Palmer, as did Verstappen. Always when I’m in front I’m pulling away, now you don’t let me past, it’s a [censored by FOM] joke, really.
50	To Sergio Perez	Checo it’s time to push now.
51	To Sergio Perez	Checo your front brake wear is critical. You will not make it to the end like this.
54	From Max Verstappen	Verstappen spun and hit Sainz. I have front wing damage.
55	From Sebastian Vettel	Vettel went off at turn 15 while chasing Hamilton for second place. [Censored by FOM]. Sorry guys.
55	To Sebastian Vettel	No problem. Two laps to go.
VL	To Nico Rosberg	Yes! Well done, well done, good job.
VL	From Nico Rosberg	Yeah! Awesome guys, awesome. Thank you very much. Great start to the season.
VL	To Lewis Hamilton	Well done mate. That’s P2. Good recovery. Bad day at the office but well done mate.
VL	From Sebastian Vettel	Aagh.
VL	To Sebastian Vettel	P3.
VL	From Sebastian Vettel	Aagh. Sorry guys. As I got close obviously I started to slide a lot. I was trying to save the tyres as much as I could but got caught out.
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	Nico job mate, excellent. Looked like you had fun today. [Part of message missing]
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	Haas is sixth.
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	Impressive. Good on them. And fastest lap? I guess I got it?
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	I can confirm you did get the fastest lap of the race.
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	Well that’s worth a drink.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Chequered flag Romain, absolutely amazing dude!
VL	From Romain Grosjean	Guys, listen to me. This is a win for us. Unbelievable for everyone. I don’t even know where we finished! Unbelievable.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Amazing, dude. You finished P6. Thanks for an amazing debut for Haas F1 team.
VL	From Romain Grosjean	Oh my goodness! Welcome to Formula One, Gene! This is the day. This is history, guys.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Thank you brilliant mate, absolutely amazing job.
VL	From Romain Grosjean	Yeah fantastic for everyone. I don’t know how you did that job in such a little time. Well done everyone.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Well done Romain, happy days. You’re the man.
VL	To Nico Hulkenberg	Well done Nico that was a great job, mate.
VL	From Nico Hulkenberg	Oh man that was painful. Jesus.
VL	To Valtteri Bottas	Very good recovery drive there after where we started. We finished P8.
VL	From Valtteri Bottas	Thanks guys good recovery but shame the overtaking was so difficult. Let’s try again in two weeks. Thankyou.
VL	From Max Verstappen	Unbelievable.
VL	To Max Verstappen	Yes. Not very good but…
VL	From Max Verstappen	I don’t understand why I was not the first one in the garage for another pit stop. It’s unbelievable. I really don’t understand. It’s a [censored by FOM] joke. Seriously.
VL	To Max Verstappen	We discuss later.
VL	To Jolyon Palmer	Well done Jo , P11, well done mate, that was a good race.
VL	From Jolyon Palmer	That’s frustrating, good job though.
VL	To Jolyon Palmer	It was close, good job.
VL	To Sergio Perez	Tough luck Checo, tough luck on that one that didn’t fall well for you.
VL	To Jenson Button	OK Jenson that is the chequered flag we finished P14.
VL	From Jenson Button	Yeah sorry guys but not my fault, we were the only people I think to get that wrong, so not good.
VL	To Jenson Button	Other cars have done similar things as well. We’ll go through it when you get out of the car.

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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47 comments on “2016 Australian Grand Prix team radio transcript”

ColdFly F1 (@)
23rd March 2016, 12:33

the censor-button guy was busy Sunday.
1. Zanquis
  23rd March 2016, 12:54
  
  I don’t get why they don’t broadcast all for full insight. Where there other messages cause STR can’t say the radio was not working as the whole world could hear it.
  1. Sven (@crammond)
    23rd March 2016, 19:45
    
    Nascar may be an increasingly rubbish racing-series, but on the broadcasting-side of things they do many things F1 can learn from. While free-to-air world-feed, paying users can go on-board with a driver of their choice and not only watch the full race from that perspective, but also hear the full radio from and towards that driver.
2. Tristan
  23rd March 2016, 12:57
  
  I thought that was great, Horner commented a long time ago that Webber used to swear a lot, just so that FOM wouldn’t bother to play his messages on the TV. I guess now that they have less messages to listen to and decide which ones are worth playing, they will have more time to censor the more colourful ones :)
3. Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
  23rd March 2016, 13:04
  
  @coldfly I think the censor-verstappen guy was busier. Button didn’t swear at all ;)
  (yes I actually read it that way at first)
Tristan
23rd March 2016, 12:54

That is an awesome transcript in my opinion. Sure there might be less messages, but the ratio of meaningful and understandable messages to technical mumbo jumbo surely has to be much greater.
1. WH
  23rd March 2016, 13:01
  
  Plus the comedy value of knowing defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton had to tear around the track with an alarm going off that he couldn’t shut up because nobody was allowed to explain to him how to turn it off
  1. Tristan
    23rd March 2016, 13:06
    
    I’ll admit, that’s not good… But that is a rule tweak that should be made, a loosening of what’s interpreted as a safety risk, not a detriment to the changes as a whole. In my opinion.
    
    I believe Mercedes could have pushed that one.
Tony Hamilton (@tonybananas)
23rd March 2016, 13:01

What was Jenson Button referring to when he said McLaren were the only ones to get that wrong? Not like him to blame the team so directly, publicly at least.
1. Robbie (@robbie)
  23rd March 2016, 13:30
  
  I think it was about their tire choices during the race, especially during the red flag.
Beto (@chebeto0)
23rd March 2016, 13:01

God I dislike Verstappen so much now. This go beyond “desire to win”. He is not the first one to get the worst end of a team’s strategy, but I cannot recall a time when someone whined so much about it. What a spoiled kid. I hope he grows up soon.
1. Robbie (@robbie)
  23rd March 2016, 13:27
  
  The team let him down. He reacted in the heat of the moment. Under the same circumstances most of us would probably have not been able to hold our tongue either. Away from the heat of the moment Max has only shown himself to be level headed and mature and confident beyond his years, which is why he is in F1.
  1. John H (@john-h)
    23rd March 2016, 13:51
    
    Hmmm, I’m not entirely convinced. I remember the grosjean brake test comments after Monaco. Personally, I think he’s going to grow up very publicly. The kind of thing most of us did at school. I’m not sure it’s going to be that pretty, and however incorrect it is to say, fun to watch I guess.
    1. Sander (@)
      23rd March 2016, 14:13
      
      Everything he does and says is put under a microscope, often taken out of context and blown up.
      
      Thing is that Verstappen was dumb enough to come in to the pits on his own, he would have been miles ahead of Sainz if he waited until the team was ready, a mistake he’ll never make again. He is at Toro Rosso to learn and this was one of those learning moments, if he pulled one like that over at Red Bull no doubt Marko would have burned him down to ground on Servus (Red Bull tv) two nights ago instead of trying to keep the flak off him.
  2. Mick Harrold (@mickharrold)
    23rd March 2016, 14:41
    
    How did his team let him down? You need to read Franz Tost’s take on the situation. He said that Verstappen’s said his tyres were going off, but the team felt it was best to keep him out for few more laps to get him in the right tyre windows. Sainz was locking tyres and was struggling more than Verstappen. (possibly because Verstappen was better at managing his tyres). Sainz had a discussion and came into the pits to change tyres.
    
    Verstappen got angry about it and came into the pits unannounced and tyres weren’t ready. Remember that Sainz was behind Verstappen on the track when he pitted, so TR had at least 1 minute to get tyres ready for his stop. Tost said that Verstappen came in with no notice. As a result, he lost 6 seconds in the pits and came out behind Sainz. Then Verstappen wanted to be let past Sainz.
    
    OK, so Verstappen wanted to pit first, but the team didn’t think that it was the right time. I am sure tthe team were right about this despite what Verstappen may think. They have all of the data. He doesn’t. He then pitted without notice and lost himself 6 seconds as a result. Then as a result of his mistake, he wanted to be let past Sainz. If I was Franz Tost, I would have said “suck it up princess. You made us look stupid in the pits, so now you have to pay for that decision”.
    
    Everyone thinks that Vertappen was stuck behind Sainz because Sainz was gifted an earlier pit stop. Verstappen was behind Sainz because Verstappen came into the pits without warning and his team weren’t ready for him. That cost him 6 seconds as his tyres weren’t ready. As a result he came out behind Sainz. Verstappen’s fault there unfortunately.
    
    Verstappen was faster than Sainz all weekend, but unfortunately he wasn’t smarter this weekend. Sainz was always going to finish where he did and extracted the most out of his ability and his car. Verstappen could have finished 6,7 or 8th if he didn’t get hot headed. They drive the same car, so take what you want from that. Sainz delivered on his ability, but Verstappen blew it. But if he hadn’t have, then I think he would have blown Sainz out of the water in Melbourne. It may be different next weekend as both these guys are good.
    
    Verstappen is 18. I tend to feel that as he grows up he will be great. However, I remember a guy called Jos Verstappen once who was very very exciting in an F1 car. I was a big supporter of him when he arrived. But he didn’t deliver the goods. He was very fast, but unpredictable and too arrogant and emotional and no-one wanted to work with him. Hmm….
    1. Robbie (@robbie)
      23rd March 2016, 17:12
      
      @mickharrold Hmmm, let’s give a driver at least a bit of latitude to know how his tires feel vs what his side of the garage is telling him. After all, he’s the one out there on them and these are iffy tires most of the time.
      
      Let’s give him a bit of latitude for being in the car, doing his thing, racing full bore trying to do what he does best, while he has to then figure out how he didn’t get the first pit that he was owed, even after pleading for it, but them giving it to CS. He hasn’t, that I’m aware of, made a habit of choosing his own time when to pit, catching his team off guard. In his mind he must have been desperate for tires and waiting any longer was only going to put him further behind. The team needs to own some of the responsibility for putting MV in the position where he felt he had to take matters into his own hands.
      
      Easy for you or Tost to say in hindsight this was all on Max, but come on. Try to appreciate the heat of the moment and the unique circumstances of this race, as all races are unique. Also, even if you are accurate with your take on his Dad, he is not his Dad, and there is a good chance he is is own person and has been taught all the things Jos learned from his experience, good, bad, or indifferent.
    2. JB22
      23rd March 2016, 17:51
      
      Actually no one wanted to work with Jos Verstappen because he was slow. Just look back at his Benetton years he was 2 seconds slower than Michael in qualifying and he scored 10 points while his team mate won the championship with 92. Basically all world class athletes are a bit smug and arrogant because you have to believe that you are the best to be the best. So that’s ok that Max is acting like that after this race i would say he is a bit like Alonso.
      1. Matn
        24th March 2016, 18:36
        
        Little perpective here….
        Jos was a test driver for Benneton with no F1 expierence, he replaced Letho ealr season.
        In his first race he had a very severe crash cause by Irvine.
        
        He drove just ten races for Benneton with two 3rd places and another 5th place, not to bad I would say for a guy with no expierence.
        
        One of my personal highlights of his career was in Malaysia, Jos started 18th in his Arrows and climbed up to sixt in just half a lap. Jos was unstoppable in the rain, climbed further till third when the race was stopped ude to heavy rain. After the restart he took second and closed the gap to Coulthard…. this got him the title ‘wet master’. Unfortunate for Jos the rain stopped and the track got dry… he ended P7 in a car that was similair to Manor performance.
    3. Silver
      25th March 2016, 0:41
      
      Verstappen faster than Sainz all weekend? That’s not true. See free practices and saturday. Sainz didn’t get a better position than Max in qualifying due to a mistake in his Q3 lap. But that’s all.
      1. E. Morales (@killer)
        30th March 2016, 3:44
        
        We should call it something like RIC-VES Syndrome. That thing where you are actually doing well against your teammate but they are always seen as better because everyone else seems to think so and do not get penalized for running into other cars.
  3. smudgersmith1 (@smudgersmith1)
    23rd March 2016, 18:15
    
    Out of his depth should have done his apprenticeship in the lower formulas not here!
2. El Salvador
  23rd March 2016, 14:03
  
  F1 is so dull for years and years…now we have someone who is brutally honest, maybe not in the smartest way, but very much in an emotional way. Verstappen was right to say he was faster..simply because he was.
  
  Ffcourse Sainz wouldnt have to let him pass, but on the other hand, if he really was a teamplayer, he should have maked room for the much quicker Verstappen and gained some pretty important points for his team. Sainz is no Saint either
3. Indiana (@indiana)
  23rd March 2016, 14:36
  
  What Verstappen really said was “The whole race im in front, and I’m pulling away, and now you dont let me pass….its a @%$#^ joke really” instead of “I always understand that I am pulling away, and now you don’t let me past. It’s a @%$#^ joke, really.”
  
  The people who are trying to translate this for their own benefits…views on their websites…should be fired at the minute…shame on you
  1. Nx
    26th October 2017, 5:33
    
    If you are going to transcribe in an attempt to highlight inaccuracy, please ensure your own contributions are beyond reproach. It’s an extremely slippery slope.
4. Maciek (@maciek)
  24th March 2016, 1:02
  
  Oh please, like we’ve never seen a hothead racing talent claim his stake a bit too brashly… it’s part of what makes them who they are. As long as he keeps backing it up with performances, I got no problem with it. Competitive sport has never been a nice guy contest. Don’t get me wrong, if someone gave me that attitude at work I’d laugh in their face, but this is F1 and all the mature greats were young bucks once.
Tristan
23rd March 2016, 13:11

To Daniel Ricciardo: I can confirm you did get the fastest lap of the race.
From Daniel Ricciardo: Well that’s worth a drink.

:)
1. AntoineDeParis (@antoine-de-paris)
  23rd March 2016, 13:27
  
  Margherita maybe :)
  1. Mick Harrold (@mickharrold)
    23rd March 2016, 14:42
    
    He said he ate a burger after the race, but maybe he should have gobbled a pizza instead.
  2. lale
    23rd March 2016, 22:03
    
    That’s Vettel’s car!
Palindnilap (@palindnilap)
23rd March 2016, 13:31

Frankly, even with that reduced communication I am struggling to see how every one of those pit-to-car messages falls under one of the 20 predefined categories. Will someone try to do the exercise ?

My point is that listing the permitted information instead of what is forbidden looks like going for facility, but will fatally overlook many unexpected situations. And what is unexpected is often what is juicy. I would have preferred a list of forbidden infos, even if that required more careful writing and would be a bit more open to interpretation.
ILuvSoundtracks (@)
23rd March 2016, 13:36

What Toro Rosso did was totally upsetting for Verstappen. Next time they have to do something better.
1. El Salvador
  23rd March 2016, 14:04
  
  agreed
2. Sander (@)
  23rd March 2016, 14:20
  
  Verstappen blew it by coming in to the pits on his own, his frustration that Sainz got to pit before him got the better of him, won’t happen again no doubt about that.
  1. Mick Harrold (@mickharrold)
    23rd March 2016, 14:53
    
    @rossotoro It probably won’t happen again. He is young, smart and hungry and will learn. But he did blow this one. Getting stuck behind Sainz was all his fault for coming into the pits angry and unannounced. Hi whining will be played everywhere and he can’t escape it as will his hot headed early pit stop.
    Schumacher was like that early on too. Is Max a young Schumacher or a young Jos Verstappen? Time will tell. However I bet he will beat Sainz this year. Jos was pretty good (and hot headed) once too though. Both were very talented, but one went on to win championships. The other went on to have a famous son.
    1. Robbie (@robbie)
      23rd March 2016, 17:30
      
      I just can’t buy that this was all on Max. The team decided to pit CS first, and that is when it all unraveled in Max’s mind. That is when he thought the team erred and blew it for him. To him it was a complete reversal of the plan. The rest of what happened is all because the team pitted CS first. To not put some of Max’s Sunday on the team is to somehow isolate and single out him from being a member of the team, and that makes no sense. You want calm and quiet from him under the circumstance where his race and his points potential had already been ruined, in his mind. He probably thought he had nothing to lose pitting on his own for tires. After pleading and pleading and them pitting CS first anyway, exactly how much longer was he to wait for the ok, when to him the day was shot anyway? To him, he had nothing to lose at that point. Should he have stayed out even longer on tires he was obviously unhappy with for several laps previous, while he’s stewing over CS getting an unplanned first pit and being on fresh tires?
      1. MarkM
        23rd March 2016, 18:51
        
        People shouldn’t comment without knowing the facts. They rightfully pitted Carlos first because if Max came in on Lap 31 he would have ended up behind Palmer, so they brought in Carlos. BUT, not knowing this and taking the matter into his own hands he ended up making his own decision to come in on lap 32 taking the team by surprise. So he lost 5 seconds extra in the pits cause they weren’t ready. This is why he ended up behind the pair (carlos and palmer). He took the strategy job into his own hands. He had good pace even though he thinks he didnt, so he was at his own fault for coming in surprising the team and loosing even more time because of it. That is why he ended up behind the pair.
        
        His immaturity took over, he was upset that he didn’t get first choice to come in and think he knew what was going on on the track, so he messed up. Awful attitude, I don’t care how fast he is, I would fire someone like that. No respect for anyone really. Maybe how he was brought up by Jose
3. hzh (@hzh00)
  23rd March 2016, 21:12
  
  What Verstappen did was totally upsetting for Toro Rosso. Next time he has to do something better.
Jonathan Parkin
23rd March 2016, 17:46

Literally what is ths point of censuring bad language. We can easily work out what a driver is saying so why not leave it in. For instance when Seb went off it is highly unlikely he said ‘sod’ for instance
1. Janet54321
  25th March 2016, 14:56
  
  Vettel’s usual expletive has four letters.
MarkM
23rd March 2016, 18:44

I completely lost respect for Max on the weekend, so selfish. Short temper, expects everything for him. He broke a cardinal rule and came into the pits without being called in. He really needs a kick in the butt. Some peoples kids.
averageJoe
23rd March 2016, 20:27

Does anyone knows what actually happend to Kimi’s car? Was it something that he broke by misshandling?
1. Todfod (@todfod)
  23rd March 2016, 21:52
  
  I was thinking along similar lines. It looked like this wasn’t a mechanical failure, but an error on Kimi’s part. If it was an error on Kimi’s part it’s pretty shameful.
Todfod (@todfod)
23rd March 2016, 21:53

I like how Jenson says ‘it’s not my fault’ that he finished p14 and that they got the strategy wrong. Followed by Mclaren saying a lot of others followed that strategy as well, so let’s discuss (your performance) later.
1. Biggsy
  23rd March 2016, 22:46
  
  @todfod
  
  I’ve read it the same way. It’s either Jenson being slow, or the car being slow, because there were many on the same strategy. :)
2. Miller
  24th March 2016, 16:29
  
  Well McLaren did get the strategy wrong because they put the Super Softs on after the restart which was a mistake and the only other team to do that was Ferrari who also have said it was a mistake.
  
  @Biggsy “because there were many on the same strategy”.
  
  No there weren’t… Button was the only car to do Soft, Soft before the red flag, him and the 2 Ferrari’s were the only ones to go onto the Super Soft type at the restart and overall Button was the only car to do Soft, Soft, Super Soft, Medium for the race…
Caztone
24th March 2016, 0:16

Pardon? “There were many others on the same strategy”? Jenson’s was the only car to be sent out on supersofts after the safety car, and the team blamed his subsequent (and unnecessary) pit-stop for medium rubber on ‘tyre degredation’. All the evidence from other cars in the race was that a) the supersoft wouldn’t last more than a dozen laps, and b) the medium was the tyre to be on at that point in the race. Putting Jenson on supersofts was incomprehensible unless there was another agenda (other than finishing in the points) at play. This ‘agenda’ was clearly to be explained after the race; hence the team’s comments. Jenson isn’t one to hide his frustrations with poor strategy, so I can only assume that he accepted the explanation and has moved on. I’d like to know what it was though – I can’t imagine the team getting things that wrong.
Matn
24th March 2016, 21:04

I have heard the stewards delayed the investigation of Alonso’s crash till after the race, they where afraid Verstappen would get even more derailed if he would have heard Alonso get a ‘get out of jail for free card’ for a similar incident Verstappen received 2 point and 5 position grid penalty for.