2016 Singapore Grand Prix team radio transcript

2016 Singapore Grand Prix

21st September 2016, 12:0122nd September 2016, 8:44 | Written by Keith Collantine

One of the few things F1 strategies hadn’t banked on in the Singapore Grand Prix was it running almost entirely Safety Car-free. The race stayed green from lap three until the end.

This was a disappointment for some, notably Fernando Alonso who’d been hopeful of making an unlikely podium appearance, as he did in 2009, after moving up to fifth at the start. “Unbelievable”, he remarked in the closing stages as the prospects of a helpful Safety Car receded.

Raikkonen pointed out he couldn’t speed up in the pits

At the same time Daniel Ricciardo was mounting a bid to for victory, slashing seconds per lap out of Nico Rosberg’s lead. The Mercedes driver did not copy the Red Bull driver’s late pit stop as his team initially called him in but aborted the cool as soon as it became clear he would come out behind Ricciardo.

Unfortunately for Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari got the same call wrong. Despite having remarked shortly after half distance that they “just need track position to the end”, Ferrari threw away that very advantage by bringing Raikkonen in a few laps later. He was not amused by their encouragement for him to keep the pace up, either.

Sergio Perez also had cause to doubt his team’s strategy but despite fearing he wouldn’t be able to make his tyres last he managed to.

And earlier in the race Lewis Hamilton expressed dismay at his team’s apparently conservative strategy after being put on a set of the soft tyres for his second stint. He got the chance to push at the end of the race, but was still having to conserve his brakes much of the time.

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2016 Singapore Grand Prix team radio transcript

Lap*	Driver	Message
PR	From Jenson Button	Everything is OK. I think the balance is about right.
PR	To Jenson Button	OK, copy.
PR	From Jenson Button	Can we put cooling fans in it now? I’m just thinking this looks like it’s going to be a while.
PR	To Pascal Wehrlein	OK Pascal so we’ll box now to do a practice start. The pit lane is very busy at the moment so one thing that I need you to do is make sure you leave enough space to the car in front of you to be able to pull around it if needed.
1	From Nico Hulkenberg	I just got hell from the Toro Rosso. I was sandwiched by them.
1	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	Any damage Carlos, any damage?
1	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	I don’t know, check the car from the outside, I can’t feel it here.
1	To Daniil Kvyat	All OK with the car, Danny?
1	From Daniil Kvyat	Yeah, all OK.
2	From Valtteri Bottas	Puncture, puncture. Got hit before turn one.
2	To Valtteri Bottas	Copy.
2	To Valtteri Bottas	Bottas was released as Vettel was passing him in the pits. Look out for traffic, Vettel, traffic.
5	To Felipe Nasr	You’re closing the gap to Perez ahead, good job.
5	To Nico Rosberg	Tyre pressures are coming up to a reasonable region now.
5	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	OK Carlos we see some damage on the bargeboard on the right, you have some more understeer, we cannot do anything at the minute for that.
6	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	OK Carlos we will have to pit in the next couple of laps to remove the bargeboard flank. What about flap, are you happy with it, and tyres?
6	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	Tyres are holding on well.
6	To Max Verstappen	OK Max so Sainz has been given a black-and-orange flag, so expect him to come in because he’s got damage on his car.
7	From Lewis Hamilton	Keep me up to date with my pace to the car in front.
7	To Lewis Hamilton	Copy, Ricciardo, doing 51.7. Nico 51.9 last lap.
7	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	Box, box, Carlos.
8	To Nico Rosberg	Copy on three, Nico. We do need that brake management, we do need the brake management.
9	To Nico Rosberg	So this is serious, Nico, we do need that brake management.
10	To Pascal Wehrlein	That’s nine laps completed.
10	From Pascal Wehrlein	Tyres are still OK. I’m managing them a lot so no problem.
10	To Pascal Wehrlein	OK mate you’re doing a great job, let’s keep it up.
10	To Lewis Hamilton	So we really need to get on top of these front brakes.
10	From Lewis Hamilton	I’m looking after them so much.
12	To Max Verstappen	How much longer can you run at this pace, Max?
12	From Max Verstappen	I’m just going slower and slower all the time.
13	To Daniil Kvyat	Max is starting to struggle on super-softs behind. All OK with you? Happy to keep going?
13	From Daniil Kvyat	Yes this pace OK.
13	To Daniil Kvyat	Copy.
13	From Felipe Nasr	My tyres are going off.
13	To Felipe Nasr	Understood Felipe, we need a few more laps, you’re doing a good job.
13	To Max Verstappen	We will be racing Ocon and Bottas on exit.
14	To Daniel Ricciardo	Engine one position zero. Doing a good job, mate, just keep pushing.
14	From Lewis Hamilton	Can you keep me up to date, please, I have no idea what’s going on.
16	From Kimi Raikkonen	My right-front is really bad.
16	To Kimi Raikkonen	Understood.
16	From Kimi Raikkonen	It’s hard to go around some right-handers, so that’s not so straightforward.
16	To Nico Rosberg	And box, box. Just caution pit lane entry.
16	To Nico Rosberg	Just re-sync your diff. We’re on the soft tyre so we want you to remember the diff switches for that. It will be clear on exit, just watch the exit.
16	From Lewis Hamilton	Come on guys, I needed a strategy that can get me past.
17	From Pascal Wehrlein	You should box me soon because I have too much traffic, I’m losing too much time. Tyres would be still fine.
17	To Pascal Wehrlein	OK understood so you only have Massa behind, there’s a big gap behind him. That’ll be a few other cars stopping now so it’s just him.
18	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	OK for me a bit about this race. What a mess.
19	From Max Verstappen	Verstappen was stuck behind Kvyat. Come on, man.
21	To Daniil Kvyat	OK Danny, Alonso is our race. If you think we can follow the train, use it.
22	To Felipe Massa	OK Felipe this is Verstappen and Kvyat ahead, they’ve been fighting each other for a while. So if you get an opportunity use the overtake.
23	To Felipe Nasr	There’s some debris, turn 22.
23	From Felipe Nasr	Inside, outside?
23	To Felipe Nasr	Outside, Felipe. Debris outside.
24	From Pascal Wehrlein	I always have this brake temps warning. I am lift-and-coasting so much I can’t believe it.
24	To Pascal Wehrlein	OK understood Pascal, we see it as well. Just stick with it for the moment, we’ll keep you updated if you have to stop.
24	From Lewis Hamilton	You need to start coming out with some plan to stop me from losing third because this is all the pace I’ve got with the brakes.
25	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK Daniel still doing a great job. Rosberg now 4.3 ahead. Behind you Hamilton bit off the pace he’s nine seconds behind you now and he’s got Kimi on his tail.
26	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	OK box, box.
28	To Kimi Raikkonen	…Adami. How are the tyres?
28	From Kimi Raikkonen	Yeah OK, not too bad. Obviously following closely doesn’t help, a little bit freer but not much to do.
28	To Max Verstappen	OK Max so you might be close to Ocon but he is a lap time. We’ll need to get through Nasr fairly quickly, he’s on ten-lap-old super-soft tyres.
28	To Sebastian Vettel	Vettel passed Sainz and Gutierrez. Well done Seb, keep your head down.
29	From Fernando Alonso	OK. Tyres are still OK, a little bit of rear deg, but normal.
29	From Jenson Button	Traction is really bad. Even on new tyres, really bad.
29	To Max Verstappen	Ignore the brake warning on the dash, Max. The next car ahead is Perez. He has fitted a soft tyre. His last lap was a 52.6, it’s three laps old, and from the looks of things he may well want to go to the end.
29	From Lewis Hamilton	Does the other car not have the same problem?
29	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis, currently Nico’s doing a similar pace and similar level of management. He does have the issue.
30	To Kimi Raikkonen	So we are still getting messages that Hamilton is in big trouble with brakes, Kimi.
31	From Jenson Button	Can you have a look at braking, please? First of all we don’t have good braking at all, but also feels like we have rear under-rotation.
31	To Jenson Button	OK, copy.
31	From Sergio Perez	I don’t think I will get these tyres to the end, man, no way.
31	To Sergio Perez	Understood Checo. Then you can use everything you need to overtake.
32	To Nico Rosberg	And remember to drink, and a little bit more brake management, please.
33	To Kimi Raikkonen	Raikkonen passed Hamilton. Awesome job, and all while we were having a chat as well!
33	To Nico Rosberg	And push hard now, Nico. Go strat five.
34	From Felipe Nasr	I’m having wheelspin.
34	To Felipe Nasr	Understood Felipe. In the moment tyres are looking OK.
34	From Felipe Nasr	I’m just having a lot of oversteer guys.
34	To Felipe Nasr	Big push Felipe, big push now.
34	To Kimi Raikkonen	OK Hamilton behind on prime, Kimi, so we just need track position to the end.
35	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK Daniel so Rosberg did a 50.7 on his first lap pushing. He’s on 50.0. Raikkonen caught us by 1.5 seconds that lap. Gap’s now seven seconds, I’ll keep you updated.
37	To Sergio Perez	Checo for long stint on super-soft recommend plus half.
38	To Lewis Hamilton	So Lewis there may be opportunity towards the end of the race. Suggest you use all the power unit.
39	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis we’re going to switch to plan B. Just need to pull Raikkonen in.
42	From Fernando Alonso	And fifth is out of reach?
42	To Fernando Alonso	Fifth is out of reach. Vettel has the pit gap. For us the race is with Verstappen who’s currently in sixth with one more stop to make. At the moment he is 9.7 seconds ahead and he will come out behind Kvyat, Massa and Perez.
42	From Fernando Alonso	The second to third is like a bull now. Nothing we can do I guess.
42	To Fernando Alonso	Fernando there’s nothing we can do from a switch point of view. If you can, use higher RPM for the shifts.
42	To Nico Rosberg	Gap to Ricciardo is…
42	From Nico Rosberg	Stop, stop telling me that.
44	To Lewis Hamilton	So Raikkonen 50.2. This is really good, Lewis, just keep it up.
44	To Sergio Perez	Checo the wear is balanced so expect both axles to need management. But at the moment front-right turn one, five and 22.
44	To Kimi Raikkonen	So you are quicker than Ricciardo ahead. Keep squeezing up to him and keep the gap to Hamilton if you can.
46	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK Daniel so race update: Hamilton has pitted, Hamilton is now on super-softs. We’re going to watch Raikkonen’s move behind, OK?
46	To Kimi Raikkonen	OK Hamilton’s in, push push push.
46	To Kimi Raikkonen	So we are boxing this lap?
46	From Kimi Raikkonen	I’ll let you know, I’ll let you know.
47	To Kimi Raikkonen	We know how close it’s going to be, we need everything perfect.
47	To Kimi Raikkonen	OK we’re racing, we’re racing. Come on, Kimi.
47	From Kimi Raikkonen	What you want me to do on a pit lane? To go faster?
47	To Kimi Raikkonen	No, no. I know.
48	From Sergio Perez	He just went straight into me,
48	To Sergio Perez	Understood. We need the pace now.
48	To Daniel Ricciardo	Engine one position ten.
48	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK Daniel you are significantly quicker than the two cars behind you.
48	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK Daniel so you are closing very quickly. Just make sure you’ve got some tyres left when you get there.
48	To Nico Rosberg	So box, box, but just stand by for abort. Push, get past Nasr.
48	From Nico Rosberg	Small mistake.
48	To Nico Rosberg	Copy that message. So staying out Nico, important, staying out.
48	To Nico Rosberg	Push hard now, Nico. Go strat five and overtake.
50	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK Daniel. So Rosberg, there’s no way he can cover us now, he would come out behind Raikkonen.
51	From Daniel Ricciardo	What time is iceberg doing?
51	To Daniel Ricciardo	Rosberg 50.3. He’s been doing 5.04s for the last few laps, that is his pace.
51	To Max Verstappen	Try and get it done nice and early, Max.
51	To Daniel Ricciardo	At the current pace you will catch him with four laps to go.
54	To Max Verstappen	Verstappen passed Alonso. Well done, Max.
54	From Nico Rosberg	How much more can I take out of the brakes at the end of the race?
54	To Nico Rosberg	We’ll let you know, Nico.
54	To Nico Rosberg	So we’ll definitely give you more at the end, Nico.
55	To Fernando Alonso	OK Fernando we are still P7, seven laps to go. Perez is +6 so no threat from behind. Manage the tyres and dash target. Let’s bank this race.
55	From Fernando Alonso	Yep. I think we need. We are doing good. It’s the first Singapore that nothing happened in front. Unbelievable.
56	To Esteban Gutierrez	Blue flags for Ricciardo, we need to be smart.
56	To Nico Rosberg	No more traffic for now until the end of the race. Get your head down. Be five to go.
58	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK you’ve now got a clear track ahead of you to Rosberg, five seconds ahead.
60	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK charge 13. You are coming up on some backmarkers.
60	To Nico Rosberg	So we’ve got a slow bunch of backmarkers in front of you. You will expect to come up to them before the end of the race, just beware.
VL	To Nico Rosberg	Woo! Brilliant drive.
VL	From Nico Rosberg	Yes, come on guys! Come on!
VL	To Nico Rosberg	At last in Singapore.
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	That was a super drive, Daniel. We obviously went for it to cover the others with the three-stop but you gave it everything, well done.
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	Thanks guys. Appreciate it. Thanks for trying something. That was fun, at least.
VL	From Kimi Raikkonen	Is that the finish to the race?
VL	To Kimi Raikkonen	Copy, copy. OK Kimi great drive from you. Sorry we didn’t make the podium. Was just leaving it to you the last few laps.
VL	From Kimi Raikkonen	What happened at the pit stop situation? I mean, I don’t know, I don’t understand how we lost position.
VL	To Kimi Raikkonen	Yeah we need to look at it in more detail afterwards, Kimi. Lap mode Safety Car In.
VL	From Sebastian Vettel	(In Italian and English) Thank you guys, good race. Good recovery. Thank you.

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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30 comments on “2016 Singapore Grand Prix team radio transcript”

ColdFly F1 (@)
21st September 2016, 12:33

What time is iceberg doing?

missed that during the race.
There should be a whole separate channel for comments by the Aussies. (maybe Liberty can sell it to Comedy Central)
1. B (@)
  21st September 2016, 14:05
  
  Did he really say that ?
2. Bernie
  22nd September 2016, 11:54
  
  Didn’t know whether he meant Kimi or Nico.
BuffyTom
21st September 2016, 13:18

Are all radio messages during the race in this transcript? I am a bit puzzled as to why Bottas did not report his seat belt issue before coming in.
1. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
  21st September 2016, 13:36
  
  Yea, I am puzzled by this too. I also heard him say he had a puncture on the 1st lap and that isn’t on the transcript.
  1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
    21st September 2016, 19:31
    
    @thegianthogweed Apologies, a section of the early messages were cut off due to a technical error. This has been fixed so you should be able to see them now, including the Bottas one you refer to.
2. NewDust
  21st September 2016, 15:53
  
  Only those that are broadcasted. FWIW Bottas did report the seatbelt issue over the radio to the team.
  
  Source:
  http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/williams-worried-by-bottas-seatbelt-issue-828189/
Franton (@franton)
21st September 2016, 13:22

I’d still love to know exactly what the brake issue Mercedes had that affected both drivers. (allegedly)
1. ColdFly F1 (@)
  21st September 2016, 14:13
  
  ‘Temperature’. ‘Overheated brakes’ to be more exact. @franton
  HAM is quoted saying this in various articles on this site; same for ROS I believe.
  
  Not sure why you include ‘allegedly’; don’t feed the thin foil hat people!
  1. Franton (@franton)
    21st September 2016, 14:16
    
    You obviously never watched “Have I Got News For You” back in it’s heyday. Allegedly :p
    
    Given there’s an article where Paddy Lowe went on record as saying that there wasn’t an issue, either they deliberately hobbled both cars for some tinfoil hat reason or (more likely) they totally screwed up the cooling requirements then. Pity, would have been nice to see some actual overtaking not done in the pit lane.
    1. sonia luff (@sonia54)
      21st September 2016, 17:43
      
      PlanetF1 .com has Paddy Lowe stating that there was NO brake problem they were just managing the brakes from the start of the race.
    2. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      21st September 2016, 19:34
      
      @franton
      
      there’s an article where Paddy Lowe went on record as saying that there wasn’t an issue
      
      I believe I’ve read the quotes you’re referring to and I don’t think they amount to the spin some publications put on them along the lines of ‘Mercedes didn’t have a problem with their brakes’.
      1. Franton (@franton)
        21st September 2016, 20:27
        
        From http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-drivers-didn-t-have-brake-problems-in-singapore-828326/
        
        “They didn’t have any problems with brakes, it’s a question of management,” Lowe told Motorsport.com.
        
        Admittedly I haven’t seen quotes from anywhere else but that’s clear cut to me, assuming it’s accurate.
      2. Tristan
        22nd September 2016, 15:33
        
        If the brakes can’t perform at certain venues, that’s a [i]problem[/i] that needs managing. That Lowe doesn’t want to use that language is irrelevant as the net effect is the same.
2. Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
  21st September 2016, 14:16
  
  @franton Mercedes explained that in this race the brakes would not have been able to withstand qualifying-style braking throughout the race. Hence, management was needed from the beginning. So I don’t think there was any issue, it was just managing brakes in a way from the beginning in order to end up with the minimal time for the full race. Same as fuel really.
  1. Franton (@franton)
    21st September 2016, 14:17
    
    Well then that almost cost Lewis a 3rd place and their triggering pitstop almost cost Nico his lead. Not exactly Merc’s finest hour.
    1. MattDS (@mattds)
      22nd September 2016, 9:54
      
      @franton That’s a weird comment to make when Rosberg did take the win and Mercedes handed Hamilton the podium through strategy when he was not in a position to take it for himself.
      1. Franton (@franton)
        22nd September 2016, 10:01
        
        Barely. Both cars were not noticeably quicker than the Red Bull or the Ferrari (notice that Hamilton was overtaken by Kimi. Unthinkable normally.) during the race purely because they were both managing brakes.
      2. MattDS (@mattds)
        22nd September 2016, 14:12
        
        @franton sorry, but that’s nonsense. Rosberg was faster than Kimi all weekend, including during the race, so Hamilton could have been too. That was not up to Merc, that was Hamilton.
        And Rosberg only came under threat from Ricciardo because of RBR’s excellent strategy. On equal tyres he was managing the gap. He had also gotten notice that he would be able to go faster (= use more of the brakes) when Ricciardo would close up. So they had it under control – until the good call by RBR of course, but that was strategy, not speed. And ultimately Rosberg did prevail so strategy was good enough.
      3. Franton (@franton)
        22nd September 2016, 16:28
        
        @MattDS This is where the F1 app subscription comes in handy. The lap times between RIC and ROS were similar throughout the race. You may argue race management, but I see two cars going as fast as they could but hobbled by brake and in HAM’s case, set up issues.
      4. MattDS (@mattds)
        23rd September 2016, 7:24
        
        @franton I do have the F1 app subscription, and other than that the lap times are freely available on F1F. I don’t see how they matter. No, I do not believe that Rosberg was going as fast as he could – and he was assured by Merc that if push really came to shove, he would be able to use more of his brakes.
        
        I stand by my opinion. The Merc was HEAPS faster in qualifying, it could keep the RBR behind without too much of a problem during the race, and Mercedes engineered a struggling Hamilton to third place. They did a great job, especially after a dismal Singapore 2015.
        
        But yeah, if you think a 1-3 is not “Mercedes’ finest hour”, then you are entitled to your opinion I guess.
3. BasCB (@bascb)
  21st September 2016, 15:47
  
  The issue they have with their brakes is that they have their brake setup optimised for speed @franton. That means that it can go fast (less obstruction of airflow from ducts etc), but cannot withstand that speed and agressive braking for longer periods of time, especially in hot weather.
  
  It’s been something that Mercedes has been doing since at least the start of 2014 now, that is why they have been more prone to brake issues than other teams. But the car is also able to generally run faster than the others in qualifying. Or in short stints if needed to catch up, build a gap, etc. It’s just a question of optimising the package, and so far it seems to work for them more often than not.
  1. Franton (@franton)
    21st September 2016, 16:32
    
    I’m quite aware of that: I spent a lot of time reading that other “technical” forum ;) . On the whole I’d agree with you. I’d say they went too far and because of which they lost more lap time “managing temperatures” than if they’d made the ducts a little bigger. Obviously there’s fuel and other things to factor in, but it does seem like a team mistake.
    1. Miss Universe
      22nd September 2016, 2:07
      
      I think they’d have qualifying pace as paramount in Singapore – and just expect and deal with the hassle of having to manage the brake temps, if Ham had been able to deliver a faster time (and so avoid dirty air) then it would have been a totally successful trade-off.
      1. Palindnilap (@palindnilap)
        24th September 2016, 10:18
        
        I think you nailed it. They were afraid of getting beaten in qualifying and thought it was better to have track position and managing the brakes than to lose track position and have better pace in the race. And it doesn’t look like a bad decision to me. With a less aggressive qualifying setup, it was perfectly imaginable that Hamilton could have started sixth behind the Red Bulls and the Ferraris.
  2. McL88AsAp (@deongunner)
    22nd September 2016, 15:10
    
    Maybe this is the cause of both cars having ERS failure in Canada 2014?
ILuvSoundtracks (@)
21st September 2016, 14:40

Nothing from laps 1-5?
Jonathan Parkin
21st September 2016, 20:17

I’m surprised Carlos Sainz wasn’t required to pit immediately to remove the bargeboard that was hanging off. Surely if his issue was serious enough to warrant the black and orange flag, I would have pitted Carlos at the end of that lap
JohnNik (@johnnik)
21st September 2016, 20:20

46 To Kimi Raikkonen So we are boxing this lap?
46 From Kimi Raikkonen I’ll let you know, I’ll let you know.

Pretty sure the “from, to” are mixed up on this one.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
22nd September 2016, 11:38

Raikkonen was also told: “They’re starting to panic a bit about Hamilton’s brakes, let’s give them a little bit of pressure.”

http://www.formula1.com/en/video/2016/9/Director's_Cut__Singapore_2016.html