2016 British Grand Prix team radio transcript

2016 British Grand Prix

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Radio messages played a vital role in the outcome of the British Grand Prix as Nico Rosberg was penalised for receiving assistance from his Mercedes team.

The extent of the messages Rosberg received went beyond what Formula One Management broadcast live on the main feed during the race. Mercedes were deemed to have given Rosberg driving assistance by explaining to him how to deal with not being able to use seventh gear.

As the messages from the end of the race show, Red Bull were very confident Rosberg would be penalised. Mercedes did not realise Rosberg was under investigation until hearing Verstappen being told he was on the television broadcast.

As has been the case all season long, very few messages were broadcast compared to the amount of discussion which was going on between the drivers and teams, even given the new team radio restrictions.

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2016 British Grand Prix team radio transcript

Lap*DriverMessage
PRTo Nico Hulkenberg

It’s whether we go all the way on these then go direct to dries or whether we have a stop on inters.
1From Sebastian VettelOK there’s quite a bit of standing water around turn eight. Also on the Wellington Straight, after turn six.
1From Lewis HamiltonSafety Car’s too slow to get temperature.
2From Lewis HamiltonBig puddles of aquaplaning still.
3From Lewis HamiltonThe Safety Car is just really slow so it’s not that easy for us to keep temperatures up.
3From Lewis HamiltonIt’ll be inters pretty soon I would say.
4From Lewis HamiltonWe can go, Charlie.
4From Marcus EricssonI think it’s not too far from inters. Getting closer.
4To Marcus Ericsson

Yeah OK Marcus. I think other teams are in agreement as well.
5To Daniel Ricciardo

OK Daniel Safety Car is in this lap, what do you think about tyres at the moment. Inters or [full wets]?
5From Daniel RicciardoIf we can survive the aquaplaning I think the inters.
5To Nico Hulkenberg

How far from dry tyres do you think it is?
5From Nico HulkenbergOh very far man. No chance.
7From Pascal WehrleinYeah I’m out. Aquaplaning first corner, No chance.
10To Marcus Ericsson

Slow in Marcus.
10From Marcus EricssonSomething is wrong with this engine.
10To Marcus Ericsson

Confirm.
10From Marcus EricssonOK slow in, copy.
10To Marcus Ericsson

Watch your mirrors behind.
12To Daniel Ricciardo

We need to make this set last until dry so important to look after these tyres, important.
14From Max VerstappenOK it’s getting drier, I don’t think slicks yet but it’s getting closer.
14To Max Verstappen

OK good info, Max.
16To Kevin Magnussen

How’s the track Kev? Talk to us.
16From Kevin MagnussenStill wet.
19From Fernando AlonsoWe lost so many positions. We need to stop one of the two cars. He went off. We are behind everyone. There are two cars copying one each other in a state of racing against the others.
22To Lewis Hamilton

Let’s just keep an open mind, people might be trying to go to the end.
22From Lewis HamiltonI want to go to the end on these.
23To Jolyon Palmer

Blue flag for Kvyat.
23From Jolyon PalmerOh this is a joke.
26To Rio Haryanto

Can you get the car going, Rio?
26From Rio HaryantoNo I’m in the barrier.
26To Rio Haryanto

OK Rio then switch off if you can’t get going.
26From Fernando AlonsoI don’t know if my car is OK. I guess so. But what a shame.
26To Fernando Alonso

Yeah OK Fernando we’re checking the car.
28To Sergio Perez

Track is clear turn one but still slippery.
31From Max VerstappenCome on, then. The blue flags are ridiculous.
31To Max Verstappen

Copy, Max.
35From Nico RosbergThat‘s moving twice, that is not on.
35To Nico Rosberg

Copy that message, Nico.
36From Max VerstappenI’m struggling quite a bit with the rears.
36To Max Verstappen

Copy.
38From Felipe MassaHe pushed me out of the track, he pushed me out of the track.
42From Lewis HamiltonWhy is he not getting blue flags?
42To Lewis Hamilton

He has had blue flags, he’s had them twice, we’re on to them.
47From Nico RosbergGearbox problem!
47To Nico Rosberg

Driver default 101, chassis default 01. Chassis default 01.
47To Nico Rosberg

Avoid seventh gear, Nico.
47From Nico RosbergWhat‘s that mean? I have to shift through it.
47To Nico Rosberg

Affirm Nico you need to shift through it, affirm.
47To Nico Rosberg

So Nico if it gets stuck again it will downshift out of seventh.
47From Nico RosbergWhat do I do if it gets stuck again?
47To Nico Rosberg

So Nico just try and avoid seventh. If it happens downshift out of it. You’re doing a really good job.
47From Nico RosbergI tried to downshift out of it last time but it didn‘t work
47To Nico Rosberg

OK copy copy.
49To Max Verstappen

OK Max Rosberg is under investigation for some of the comments made over the radio.
VLTo Lewis Hamilton

Awesome stuff, Lewis. Great job, man. British Grand Prix.
VLFrom Lewis HamiltonGreat job this weekend guys. Thank you so much for your continued efforts. Everyone back in the factory. Really amazing. Right now I’m thinking about all the people.
VLTo Max Verstappen

OK Max that is P3 mate, mode one. Excellent job. 1.3 seconds behind Rosberg and he will be investigated after the race. Another excellent drive mate.
VLFrom Max VerstappenWell that was an interesting race guys. I think we challenged them and we had great pace. Thank you for a great car.
VLTo Max Verstappen

Well done Max that was a gerat drive. Entertaining, you were the highlight of the race. We loved your move around the outside of Becketts. Points mean prizes so well done.
VLTo Daniel Ricciardo

It was a good drive, Daniel. Could get better still. Let’s see what happens with Rosberg. They were a bit naughty what they’ve done on the radio with him it was very clear instruction, so…

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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British Grand Prix data

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    Keith Collantine
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    20 comments on “2016 British Grand Prix team radio transcript”

    1. Interesting different approach from both engineers towards Ricciardo and Verstappen in the last two lines.

      1. They were clearly happy with Verstappens race and not quite so much with the way how it went for Ricciardo – not unreasonable, I would say.

        1. Ricciardo was clearly compromised by the VSC (as were many others, such as Hulkenburg), I don’t think there is much to those comments.

      2. ColdFly F1 (@)
        19th July 2016, 6:09

        Not sure what you’re reading into that, @xtwl.
        ‘Good Drive’ for RIC and ‘Great Drive’ for VES.
        Actually these comments could have been made by anyone; I saw similar comments when we reviewed the race and the DOTW.

    2. I am sure the following were from Vettel;
      1 From Lewis Hamilton OK there’s quite a bit of standing water around turn eight. Also on the Wellington Straight, after turn six.
      2 From Lewis Hamilton Big puddles of aquaplaning still.
      The ones about the slowness of the Safety cars were definitely Hamilton. :-)

      1. They were definitely Hamilton…

        1. No, I’m sure the first line (with turn eight, Wellington Straight) was Vettel’s. The second one was Hamilton’s indeed.
          The first line even features on the official F1 site as being Vettel’s: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/features/2016/7/f1-great-britain-best-race-radio-say-what.html

      2. @ijw1 There was a mislabelled message there – have changed it now, thanks.

    3. Anyone else noticed the striking difference of quality in driver feedback? Look at Verstappen vs Magnussen on the wet track:

      14 From Max Verstappen OK it’s getting drier, I don’t think slicks yet but it’s getting closer.
      14 To Max Verstappen OK good info, Max.
      16 To Kevin Magnussen How’s the track Kev? Talk to us.
      16 From Kevin Magnussen Still wet.

      Of course we don’t get to hear everything they say, but still…

    4. If the pit wall can’t coach the drivers, then the drivers shouldn’t be allowed to coach the pit wall. Let the pit wall figure it out for themselves if they should ready inters or slicks!

      1. @amail You might think that’s funny but exactly that happened in MotoGP past sunday.

    5. Once again we see how well connected Red Bull are! They knew that Rosberg’s radio messages were being investigated within a few minutes. How could Mercedes not have known until the post-race driver interviews on TV?

      1. Because Red Bull would have complained about it to the stewards and got confirmation that it would be investigated.

        1. @patrickl – thanks, makes sense. Still, I find it worrying that Mercedes didn’t seem to know what was going on.

      2. Redbull telling Daniel to save his tires wasn’t driver coaching? They should have a full penalty, certainly after complaining about Mercedes informing Rosberg on how to keep his car running.

        1. They should not have a “full” penalty (what does that even mean?) if said message is within the rules. Apparently it is.

    6. “Mercedes did not realise Rosberg was under investigation until hearing Verstappen being told he was on the television broadcast.”

      I must have missed this in the post race coverage, does anyone know where it was reported?

      1. I’m not aware if it has been reported anywhere else, I do have a source for the information.

      2. I guess Mercedes would not really want to talk about the penalty at all now and the FIA has never been known for their open and full communication, so I guess most involved would rather not mention it if not specifically asked!

    Comments are closed.