At the first race weekend of the year Lewis Hamilton was asked what he thought about the new restrictions on team radio communications and whether it would play to his strengths as a driver.
“We’re all in the same boat,” replied Hamilton. “Some of us will handle it better than others. I don’t particularly see there being much of be a problem.”
Hamilton had clearly revised that view in the wake of Sunday’s European Grand Prix. He spent around 15 laps of the race unable to get maximum power from his Mercedes because he was in the wrong engine setting and the rules prevented his team from being able to tell him how to change it.
Kimi Raikkonen was in the same boat and, like Hamilton, even tried to suggest ways around the rule. In both cases their race engineers avoided incurring the wrath of the stewards.
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2016 European Grand Prix team radio transcript
| Lap* | Driver | Message |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | From Kimi Raikkonen | There was some [censored by FOM] plastic flying around I am trying to avoid it. |
| 8 | To Sebastian Vettel | Box Sebastian, box. |
| 8 | From Sebastian Vettel | Are you sure about this? Pace looks good. |
| 8 | To Sebastian Vettel | We are about to be undercut by Ricciardo, box now. |
| 15 | From Lewis Hamilton | Struggling with my brakes, I’ve got vibration. |
| 19 | To Kimi Raikkonen | Let’s have him Kimi it’ll change our race if we have him. |
| 22 | To Pascal Wehrlein | OK Pascal please be careful T8, we have had our final warning so please be careful. |
| 23 | From Pascal Wehrlein | I am not cutting turn eight with all four tyres. |
| 27 | From Lewis Hamilton | Derates everywhere. I’m sure that’s not helping. Is there no solution for this?. |
| 27 | To Lewis Hamilton | We are working on it, Lewis. |
| 27 | From Lewis Hamilton | You guys need to pick up the pace. |
| 28 | To Kimi Raikkonen | Thank you Kimi, thank you. |
| 29 | From Kimi Raikkonen | Yeah but now you need to tell him to push because I don’t want these in front of me. |
| 30 | To Kimi Raikkonen | He’s been told. |
| 31 | From Lewis Hamilton | Can I not reset this thing?. |
| 31 | To Lewis Hamilton | OK Lewis so the problem appears to be with the current mode you’re in. |
| 31 | From Lewis Hamilton | Ah, I don’t know what you mean but I don’t know what’s wrong. |
| 32 | To Lewis Hamilton | Copy that Lewis, hard to say what it is. |
| 32 | From Carlos Sainz Jnr | OK I have a problem in the suspension or something. |
| 34 | From Lewis Hamilton | This is ridiculous guys, I don’t know, looking at my fricking dash every five seconds trying to find a switch that’s in the wrong position. I haven’t changed anything or done something wrong as far as I’m aware. |
| 34 | To Lewis Hamilton | Yeah Lewis it’s nothing that you’re doing wrong, just got a setting that’s icorrect. |
| 34 | From Lewis Hamilton | Is it HPB?. |
| 34 | To Lewis Hamilton | I’m afraid I can’t say, Lewis. |
| 35 | From Lewis Hamilton | I may not finish this race because I’m going to try to change everything. |
| 35 | To Lewis Hamilton | Don’t advise that, Lewis. |
| 35 | From Lewis Hamilton | Can I make a suggestion and you say if it’s OK or not?. |
| 36 | To Lewis Hamilton | No that’s not allowed. Let’s just get our head down and focus on the job. |
| 39 | From Kimi Raikkonen | Hey where the [censored by FOM] is the blue flag. |
| 40 | To Kimi Raikkonen | We’re on it Kimi there’s nothing we can do with him. |
| 40 | From Kimi Raikkonen | I’ve been following the whole [censored by FOM] lap so… |
| 40 | To Kimi Raikkonen | We are on it with Charlie, we have complained. |
| 41 | From Pascal Wehrlein | I have no brakes any more, completley broken brakes. |
| 43 | To Fernando Alonso | OK Fernando, we can see the problem getting worse, we need to box this lap. |
| 43 | From Fernando Alonso | Yeah, OK, I cannot downshift for some corners. |
| 44 | From Lewis Hamilton | OK Lewis you’re the fastest car on the track. |
| 44 | To Lewis Hamilton | No [censored by FOM] man, I’ve got my power back. |
| 46 | From Kimi Raikkonen | If the handle is normal, it is the same like last race, let’s say?. |
| 46 | To Kimi Raikkonen | I can’t answer Kimi, I can’t answer, I’m sorry. |
| 46 | From Kimi Raikkonen | For sure you can say yes or no. |
| 46 | To Kimi Raikkonen | I can’t Kimi, I can’t. |
| VL | To Nico Rosberg | Excellent job Nico, excellent job. |
| VL | From Nico Rosberg | Yeehaa! Thanks a lot, guys, awesome!. |
| VL | To Sergio Perez | Well done Checo you did it in style there, well done. |
| VL | From Sergio Perez | Thank you so much guys, so sorry for yesterday. Amazing weekend guys, thank you so much, enjoy it, another podium guys, yeah!. |
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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European Grand Prix data
2016 European Grand Prix
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ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
22nd June 2016, 12:33
This is [censored by FOM] depressing. FIA only relay radio communication that caught on bleeping machine. F1 need stricter moaning restrictions.
BrawnGP (@brawngp)
22nd June 2016, 12:36
These transcripts are a bit shorter than they used to be!
Psychotext (@textuality)
22nd June 2016, 12:41
Clearly loads left out because we know for a fact that Vettel didn’t box, and I doubt he just ignored the team rather than saying no.
rich
22nd June 2016, 14:25
My guess is that the original comments from all drivers about the ban had to do with “coaching” and not with solving technical issues created by the team, but correctable by the driver if properly instructed. Have we all not noticed or heard a team give instructions to “park the car” or to “box” and aren’t these instructions just as telling someone to move switch “b” to position one?
Robbie (@robbie)
22nd June 2016, 23:00
Instructions to park the car, or box, do not assist the driver to go faster.
tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
23rd June 2016, 8:42
Yeah, advice like “You’re braking too much in turn 4” was appalling. But Hamilton’s car was clearly in the wrong mode and not operating well, I can’t see why the team can’t advise him to correct it. Perhaps the FIA could provide someone to vet these messages before they are sent, so that engineering messages are allowed through, but coaching messages remain excluded.
GeeMac (@geemac)
22nd June 2016, 15:23
These team radio transcripts used to make me sad, now they just annoy me. The radio rules have gone far to far. I totally agree that the teams shouldn’t be allowed to tell their drivers to “break 5m later into turn X”, but I really don’t have an issue with them saying “Ok Seb, Torque Map 1”. The cars are complicated, that the reason we used to hear more instructions from the pit wall. It’s not because the drivers are being spoon fed instructions or told how to drive. Sanity has to prevail here.
That said, I would keep the restriction insofar as it applies to start procedures…
Dan
22nd June 2016, 18:04
These transcripts have become truly pathetic. Well done F1. Your mission to remove spontaneity and excitement from the sport is proceeding apace. Give yourselves a pay rise.
Maddme
22nd June 2016, 20:56
The published transcripts appear to be little more (or less) than what is heard during the race broadcast… Aside from anything else there should be at least 22 calls to pit and more like 30 in reality…
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
22nd June 2016, 22:42
This has always been the case: if FOM don’t broadcast it I can’t transcribe it!
Maddme
22nd June 2016, 23:23
Many apologies, I didn’t realise it was transcribed by a yourself… I thought they were released by the FOM…
ram
24th June 2016, 6:46
Why is the left front mounted backwards on Hamilton’s car? It took a while to spot it.