Far fewer radio messages were broadcast during the Chinese Grand Prix than there were 12 months ago, indicating the new restrictions are having a significant effect.
However it’s not clear how many of the total radio message Formula One Management is choosing not to broadcast.
Twelve months ago the opening rounds of the championship also saw a reduction in team radio traffic during the television coverage. This rose again at the Chinese event, which was the fourth round of the championship last year.
This year very few messages were broadcast at all. But those that were proved among some of the most revealing of the season so far.
Sebastian Vettel’s fury at Daniil Kvyat following an incident at the first corner drew much interest. Kvyat was not penalised for the incident, but Vettel repeatedly and strenuously blamed the Red Bull driver for it.
The Ferrari driver’s angry was interpreted by many as being a sign of his embarrassment at having hit team mate Kimi Raikkonen while trying to avoid the Red Bull driver.
Kvyat in turn was venting his spleen at lapped traffic – not for the first time. Here’s what we heard in China.
Go ad-free for just £1 per month
>> Find out more and sign up
2016 Chinese Grand Prix team radio transcript
| Lap* | Driver | Message |
|---|---|---|
| PR | From Marcus Ericsson | My tube for drinks bottle is too tight I can’t turn my head. |
| PR | To Marcus Ericsson | Understood. |
| PR | From Jenson Button | Just noticed a slight cut in power when I was in 8th gear – maybe I was sitting in a certain rev for too long. |
| PR | From Lewis Hamilton | Just want you guys also to know I’m grateful for all the hard work getting the car back up together, thank you. |
| 1 | From Sebastian Vettel | Okay I made contact I had no chance I had the Red Bull coming up the inside like a madman and I hit Kimi, I think my nose is damaged. |
| 1 | From Lewis Hamilton | I lost my wing. |
| 1 | To Lewis Hamilton | OK copy that Lewis, we are ready for you. The front wing is under your car so just caution. |
| 2 | From Lewis Hamilton | Is the rest of the car OK? It doesnt feel like it. The front’s very light so something’s not right. |
| 6 | To Lewis Hamilton | We have a plan, nothing wrong all part of the plan. |
| 6 | From Lewis Hamilton | Sorry I’m boxing again now? |
| 6 | To Lewis Hamilton | Affirm, we’re going to fit the soft so we don’t have to use any other compounds. |
| 6 | From Sebastian Vettel | Just to copy you again, Kvyat attack was suicidal, there was always going to be a crash. No way with the speed he had he could have done the corner. |
| 14 | To Sebastian Vettel | Good stuff Sebastian good stuff. Push hard. |
| 25 | From Nico Hulkenberg | I think we should think about the alternative strategy to be honest, think about it. |
| 25 | To Nico Hulkenberg | We are already on it, we are already on it. |
| 21 | From Sebastian Vettel | You should have let me know sooner – I could have pushed harder. |
| 21 | To Sebastian Vettel | Copy that we got by surprise as well. |
| 30 | To Lewis Hamilton | Just give it everything you have got, mate. |
| 30 | From Lewis Hamilton | I am. |
| 34 | To Sebastian Vettel | Push hard Sebastian, push hard now. |
| 38 | To Kimi Raikkonen | You are going to be racing quite a few cars in the next stint, but I know you can do it. |
| 42 | To Daniil Kvyat | We are lapping Palmer ahead. |
| 42 | From Daniil Kvyat | He should get out of my [censored by FOM] way! |
| 43 | To Daniel Ricciardo | Nice job mate, Massa next, let’s do it. |
| 54 | To Romain Grosjean | Two to go two to go hang in there. |
| 54 | From Romain Grosjean | That’s what I wanted to ask, if you want to retire, there is a problem with the car, it is undrivable today. |
| 54 | To Romain Grosjean | Understood but we do not want to retire the car, hang in there. |
| VL | To Nico Rosberg | Well done excellent drive absolutely dominant. Brilliant. |
| VL | From Nico Rosberg | Wow thanks a lot everybody, that was the most incredible balance I probably ever had in a race, that car. Really spectacular. |
| VL | To Sebastian Vettel | Good job Sebastian, P2, great recovery, strong weekend. |
| VL | From Sebastian Vettel | Yeah again, massive apologies to the team, but surely I didn’t do it on purpose, really sorry for Kimi. Was nothing I could do Kvyat came like a torpedo and I had to react and there was no way out. At the same time Kimi pulled to the right, so, yeah. Anyway great recovery. Grazie ragazzi. |
| VL | To Daniil Kvyat | OK well done Dany, P3 mate, well done. |
| VL | From Daniil Kvyat | Thank you. Thanks guys, excellent, excellent day.Thanksfor my second podium, you’ve been fantastic. |
| VL | To Daniil Kvyat | Great job Dany, second podium of your career, that’s a brilliant drive. |
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.
Follow F1 Fanatic Live on Twitter for team radio highlights during all live F1 sessions.
Chinese Grand Prix data
2016 Chinese Grand Prix
- 2016 Chinese Grand Prix team radio transcript
- Ricciardo’s recovery drive earns fourth Driver of the Weekend win
- 2016 Chinese Grand Prix Rate the Race Result
- 2016 Chinese Grand Prix Predictions Championship results
- Top ten pictures from the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix
Team radio transcripts
- Tributes and cheeky doughnuts: How departing F1 drivers signed off on their radios
- Red Bull left it as late as possible to tell Verstappen about his latest penalty
- “Am I dead last now?” Unheard radio from Hamilton’s disastrous Qatar GP
- Verstappen was fighting tyre graining, not his rivals, in title-winning drive
- ‘Being nice f**** me over’: Leclerc’s radio anger and Sainz’s criticism explained
lockup (@)
22nd April 2016, 13:08
As I’ve said before they really threw the baby out with the bathwater on radio. Maybe the drivers are doing more, or not. What’s on their screens, and what were they told in the garage? Who knows, so how is it adding anything?
Biggsy
22nd April 2016, 13:54
Now that we don’t have all those technical messages anymore, you can really appreciate what a bunch of whining, spoiled kids these drivers are.
Tyler (@tdog)
24th April 2016, 18:24
Yeah, there’s nothing worse than someone who constantly whines.
Kamil (@krioru)
22nd April 2016, 13:57
Vettel was right… There’s no way Kvyat would have done that corner at the speed he had… He should have been given 15 seconds and 2 penalty points… But he got a podium… Just wow….
Eric (@fletch)
22nd April 2016, 14:13
@krioru
I respectfully disagree. There was a gap. He didn’t lock, and made the corner. Wide on exit yes but he stuck it. Seb had some room, not much mind but We’ve all seen cars much closer in the first couple corners. Still sucks for Kimi but lots of drivers get caught out.
Ian Bond (@ianbond001)
22nd April 2016, 16:37
He did not make the corner; he understeered, hit Kimi and took Kimi’s wing off.
lockup (@)
22nd April 2016, 18:25
I suppose it was only a matter of time before Fanboost and VR combined to produce whole DIY race incidents :)
Slowhands (@slowhands)
23rd April 2016, 0:29
@ianbond001 @krioru
That was a risky but ultimately high reward move by Kvyat. As he says, “This is racing.” Gotta make moves like that when the opportunity presents itself. That was a REAL gap, created by Vettel understeering wide. As Vettel admitted, he saw Kimi go wide, he was determined to overtake Kimi, he allowed his car to move into Kimi’s line.
“There’s no way Kvyat would have made the corner at that speed.” Really?? He actually did. He pulled it off. We’re in the past tense here, the move was successfully made, there is no option to use a speculative conditional tense.
And no, Kvyat did not understeer into Kimi. Watch this great side by side in-car from Vettel and Kvyat: http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/video.html
Kvyat hugs that inside apex kerbing like glue until it is time to float off to take the line for Turn 2. The video makes clear that it is actually Kimi coming back in from well off-line who is to blame for the whole incident. Just because he is ahead does not mean that he can just waltz back into the track however he likes. This is the first corner, where all the cars are bunched together. He has to expect that having gone wide by locking up for Rosberg cutting across his bow, the inside lanes are chock full of cars. He either has no situational awareness of where everyone else is, or else he does not look because he doesn’t care. He just barges across Vettel’s nose. Vettel didn’t hit Kimi, Kimi hit Vettel (as Vettel’s last radio message recognizes). Vettel yells at Kvyat because he can’t yell at Kimi. But he should. Kimi’s rush back into traffic is what set off the whole chain reaction incident that also crippled Lewis.
And Kimi’s car hits Kvyat because when Vettel hits Kimi’s right rear it turns him 45 degrees sideways. His car is literally pointing into the corner, and is still in this position when he makes contact with Kvyat.
What Kvyat’s move did was make obvious to the world (and Sergio Marchionne) that the two Ferraris were not looking out for each other, and they paid the price. And forcing mistakes like that is what an opposing team (Red Bull) is supposed to do.
I’m a big Vettel fan, but he was out of line scolding Kvyat for a problem between the Ferrari cars. But again he did it because he didn’t want to argue with Kimi or throw him under the bus, or admit to his own attempt at an aggressive move on his teammate, with the big boss present. And kudos to Kvyat for standing up to the 4 time world champ.
Ian Bond (@ianbond001)
26th April 2016, 18:18
Of course he under steered into Kimi; seconds 12-13-14 in your video; look at the amount of steering input Kvyat has and he’s still pointing leftwards in a right hand corner.
I give you that, Kimi was kind off sideways and the young Russian said to himself “let me hit him and straighten him up”.
It was a racing incident but it was Kyviat’s fault, by going to fast into the corner and then sliding towards the Ferraris.
Ian Bond (@ianbond001)
26th April 2016, 18:34
that’s a great video by the way!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
22nd April 2016, 14:36
@krioru There’s no “would” about it – Kvyat did make the corner. It’s not as if he bounced off Vettel to get around it, did he?
This was a racing incident and I’m glad the stewards left it alone.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
22nd April 2016, 22:55
Agree that it was a racing incident but Kvyat bounced a little off Raikkonen and took off Raikkonen’s wing at the same time.
Robbie (@robbie)
22nd April 2016, 23:05
@keithcollantine Agreed. Loved Kvyat’s response to SV in the green room after the race too. And as pointed out below, SV backed off from his accusations after the heat of the moment. Nothing to see here other than Kvyat’s great reaction.
ColdFly F1 (@)
22nd April 2016, 14:38
And I unequivocally disagree.
Glad you’re not a race steward (I hope).
PS – Vettel should make up his mind. Is Kvyat ‘a madman’, ‘suicidal’, or ‘a torpedo’? Maybe he’s just a chameleon.
Joe (@joew)
22nd April 2016, 14:47
Probably a cucumber ;-)
I have to concur with the majority – if you watch the onboards, Kvyat was happily hugging the inside line. He didn’t nerf Vettel into Kimi.
Janet54321
22nd April 2016, 18:28
It looked to me as if there were two cars with road room for one. They are racers and both went for it but Daniel got there first, forcing Sebastian to steer away and unfortunately Kimi was there.
Seb still can’t contain his emotions when things don’t go as planned. Ronnie O’Sullivan has seen a sports psychiatrist to manage his frustration as his own performance.
TheBullWhipper (@thebullwhipper)
22nd April 2016, 15:50
Vettel has a brake as well as a throttle, he could have got out of it when he DK coming and not driven into an inevitable wedge. DK made no contact with anyone, once Seb left the door open there was no way any red blooded racing driver wouldn’t have gone for the gap given the opportunity, or should no-one dare challenge/compromise the red cars lines on lap 1………..
I’m not a Seb Vettel hater, in fact I rate him highly, I just think it was more embarrassingh he hit Kimi than anything else, especially in front of the big man.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
22nd April 2016, 19:21
I agree.
muralidharan
25th April 2016, 4:08
That is kinda preemptive. Had Vettel and Raikkonen turned in as required in that corner, then Kyvat will have hit Vettel and perhaps taken out either Vettel or both of the Ferraris – that may warrant a punishment. But as it stands, Vettel didn’t turn in, leaving Kyvat with a gap, which any driver would mad to not take.
kamehob
22nd April 2016, 15:30
There were two more conversations from Ricciardo and Kvyat – after 1min50sec on this video: https://my.mail.ru/bk/kamehob/video/32/85.html
Can you transcript it too?
Thank you.
Mia
22nd April 2016, 17:54
Hamilton showed maturity and in control of his emotions. Thanked his team, got on with the job and salvaged some points. Great drive by Ricciardo but Kyvat is better. Go Kyvat!
Kenny
22nd April 2016, 22:38
FYI: Vettel has stated that after watching the video he agrees that it was “racing incident” after all and that Kvyat wasn’t to blame.
Jordi Casademunt (@casjo)
22nd April 2016, 23:00
Nico Hülkenberg: I think we should think about the alternative strategy to be honest, think about it.
Engineer: We are already on it, we are already on it.
That gave me a chuckle during the race.
Ardhan Febriansyah
22nd April 2016, 23:55
yeah, it was just a normal racing incident, and I think that Vettel was just trying to make Kvyat, a scapegoat of his own mistake… :D
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
23rd April 2016, 0:51
Really not a fan of the radio restrictions for this year, Think they have gone way too far as now were getting virtually nothing & I really miss it along with the extra bit of insight it always gave.
Its not just in the race either, We used to get a fair amount of decent technical & setup discussions broadcast through practice (Especially on the pit lane channel) & now we just don’t get anything because there not allowed to discuss anything.
Tommy Scragend
23rd April 2016, 7:42
I suspect that there are a lot of messages that FOM could broadcast, but choose not to. In previous years even simple messages like “box this lap” would have been broadcast – presumably those still occur but we don’t hear them.
I wonder if FOM are trying too hard to give the impression that the drivers really are doing it all for themselves these days.
Bolide (@mim5)
23rd April 2016, 19:51
I’ve watched the racing incident again and Kyvat made the right decision when he went for the gap.
What occurred to me while taking into account both Kimis and Kyvats trajectories without Kimi steering right was that they were about to have a huge accident as Kyvat also understeered after passing Vettel. Thankfully none of that happened
Sergey Martyn
25th April 2016, 14:57
Vettel looked like a whining and moaning captain sinking with his rusty WWII German packet boat torpedoed by the Russian submarine.