Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2016

2016 Mexican Grand Prix team radio transcript

2016 Mexican Grand Prix

1st November 2016, 11:502nd November 2016, 7:21 | Written by Keith Collantine

Sebastian Vettel’s meltdown on the radio in the final laps of the Mexican Grand Prix provided one of the biggest talking points of an largely processional race.

Vettel was angered by Max Verstappen who cut across the first corner at turn one and prevented Vettel from passing him. The Ferrari driver was adamant his rival had to let him past and the stewards eventually agreed with him, giving Verstappen a five-second penalty after the race.

Start Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2016 — 2016 Mexican Grand Prix in pictures

But in the final moments of the race matters were less clear. On the main television feed a radio message was played from Verstappen’s engineer apparently telling him to give the position back. This may have prompted Ferrari’s two subsequent messages to Vettel informing him that Verstappen had been told to cede position.

However a longer version of the same message to Verstappen revealed his engineer had in fact only suggested he give the position back. Verstappen queried the call and his engineer concluded the discussion by saying “OK stay there”, as transcribed below.

It’s possible this was overlooked by Ferrari in the heat of the moment and the confusion may have contributed to Vettel’s subsequent four-letter tirade aimed at race director Charlie Whiting.

Vettel seemed to be in a feisty mood long before then. He had already called Felipe Massa “stupid” and complained about traffic. There was also a three-lap delay between one instruction for him to come into the pits and him complying – was Vettel having second thoughts about Ferrari’s strategy again?

The Mexican Grand Prix was a frustrating race for several other drivers too. The Sauber pair squabbled over team orders, Sergio Perez complained about his strategy and Carlos Sainz Jnr lost a place when he got held up behind Max Verstappen.

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2016 Mexican Grand Prix team radio transcript

Lap*	Driver	Message
PR	From Jolyon Palmer	Who’s the one nearest to me on super-soft? Is he a long way?
PR	To Jolyon Palmer	That’s Sainz, P10.
PR	From Jolyon Palmer	[Censored by FOM] hell, OK.
PR	To Nico Hulkenberg	Weather information: So the wind is lower, 7kph headwind down the main straight, tail wind into turn seven at the moment but it’s lower than qualifying. Track temperature should be around 37 I should think.
PR	To Pascal Wehrlein	OK Pascal comments on balance initially?
PR	From Pascal Wehrlein	Feels like way too much understeer.
PR	From Nico Hulkenberg	I had a bit of a chin strike again, exit of 11, just check that while I’m on the grid.
PR	To Nico Hulkenberg	Yep we will do we saw it.
PR	From Marcus Ericsson	My car is actually quie good. Low-speed, high-speed, got a nice blanace.
PR	To Marcus Ericsson	Copy that.
FL	To Esteban Gutierrez	Esteban this is Juan Montoya. I hope you have a great day, how are you feeling?
FL	From Esteban Gutierrez	I’m feeling great. Thanks a lot everybody. It feels great being in Mexico.
1	From Sebastian Vettel	Puncture, I think I have a puncture. Check the rear.
2	From Lewis Hamilton	Got a heavy flat spot guys. Don’t know how that’s going to be.
2	To Lewis Hamilton	OK, copy, we’re looking at it.
3	From Max Verstappen	Mate, he just turned into me. I was in front of Nico he just cut the track.
3	To Max Verstappen	OK. We agree with that.
3	From Max Verstappen	It looks everything OK?
3	To Max Verstappen	Yep from what we can see at the moment mate all looks under control.
3	To Pascal Wehrlein	Anti-stall, try and get going.
3	From Pascal Wehrlein	No, they crashed into me, I’m out. Unbelievable.
3	To Pascal Wehrlein	Who was it?
3	From Lewis Hamilton	How is that vibration?
3	To Lewis Hamilton	We’re not super-concerned, Lewis, it’s a case if you can live with it.
3	From Lewis Hamilton	Certainly going to be hard. 100-degree difference between the two brakes.
4	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	The gearbox is failing. Downshifts.
4	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	OK we are having a look.
5	To Kimi Raikkonen	OK Kimi so with the Safety Car we’ve lengthened this stint by two laps.
7	From Fernando Alonso	Check what Toro Rosso pushed me in the grass in turn three. Unbelievable. Really, really unbelievable. Sorry I think we could be maybe three positions up, something like that. But nearly crash. Big one.
9	From Esteban Gutierrez	Everything is hot. Oil, brakes.
9	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK mate nice job. You need to get by Magnussen as soon as possible. We need to clear Magnussen quickly. He is vulnerable, he’s on his own.
10	From Esteban Gutierrez	I’m pushing and managing everything.
10	To Esteban Gutierrez	Good boy, I like it.
11	From Romain Grosjean	Please find something with the strategy. I cannot overtake.
11	To Romain Grosjean	OK, understood.
11	From Sebastian Vettel	OK I’m a bit stuck, they’re very, very fast down the straight, I can go quite a bit faster than him.
13	From Sebastian Vettel	He’s stupid, he’s slowing himself down by fighting so hard.
14	From Felipe Massa	Starting to struggle now, think about it.
14	To Felipe Massa	Yep OK, we’re talking about it.
16	To Fernando Alonso	Fernando push now,
16	From Fernando Alonso	Yes I am pushing. I am pushing from lap one. But we are driving for 15 laps with a car that should not be in the race. So do your job, I’m doing mine.
17	To Daniil Kvyat	Gutierrez is catching Magnussen. We need to overtake while he has no DRS.
18	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK mate you’re still doing a very good job. Rosberg would still be behind us if he pitted. Rosberg would pit and come behind us. Keep up the pace.
19	To Nico Rosberg	Really good job Nico just keep that up for a couple more laps. We’re just looking for the window.
20	To Nico Rosberg	Box, box
20	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	Palmer cut the track, the Renault in front.
20	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK mate you’re doing a good job. You need to get through these two cars quickly. They are fighting each other.
20	To Sergio Perez	OK Checo everything you’ve got.
21	To Jenson Button	Great stuff, Jenson.
21	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK Rosberg is also pitting this lap. It may be close at pit exit, he may be just ahead of you.
21	From Max Verstappen	What do we do now? I mean, I’m stuck.
22	To Nico Rosberg	So information Nico, you only got half the flap adjust so you’ve got a little more front wing than we planned.
23	To Romain Grosjean	Good job you’re half a second quicker than Ocon behind, you’re closing the gap to Kvyat, Guti ahead.
23	From Daniil Kvyat	Got him.
23	To Daniil Kvyat	Fantastic job, Danny.
24	To Valtteri Bottas	Great job Valtteri. This is looking really good if we can stay on the plan A.
24	From Valtteri Bottas	I think we can.
26	To Nico Rosberg	So just be aware Verstappen is pushing hard now.
26	From Nico Rosberg	Because he’s going to do another stop or why is he doing that?
26	To Nico Rosberg	He’s just trying to put you under pressure.
27	To Fernando Alonso	Fernando we won’t use this engine again so nothing to save. Consider using drinks on the straights.
27	From Fernando Alonso	Yeah but I cannot go any closer so I don’t know what we can do.
27	To Fernando Alonso	Understood. For the moment let’s play the long game.
27	From Lewis Hamilton	These tyres don’t really feel that great.
28	From Sergio Perez	So think of something, man. Why did you box me so late? Think of something to overtake them. It is very difficult. I cannot pass them.
29	From Sebastian Vettel	Well it’s not getting any easier. Starting to lose the rear a bit but I can hang on.
29	To Sebastian Vettel	And box, Sebastian, box.
32	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	Yeah I don’t like these tyres.
32	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	Understood.
32	To Sebastian Vettel	Box now, bow now.
33	From Kimi Raikkonen	The grip on these tyres is just very poor.
35	To Marcus Ericsson	He’s been told again to swap positions.
35	From Marcus Ericsson	Ah he doesn’t give a [censored by FOM].
35	To Marcus Ericsson	OK. Stay cool.
35	From Marcus Ericsson	OK.
35	To Felipe Nasr	Swap position now. Swap positions with Marcus now.
35	From Felipe Nasr	Marcus is not even close to me.
36	To Felipe Nasr	Swap position before turn one with Marcus. Swap position now.
36	From Felipe Nasr	If he doesn’t pull away I want my place back.
36	To Felipe Nasr	Understood Felipe.
36	To Max Verstappen	Make sure you keep it clean behind Rosberg for the moment, Max. Never know what might happen later. Doing a really good job at the moment.
38	To Daniel Ricciardo	It has clouded over a little bit. They tyres are looking good at the moment but obviously we don’t want to let them get too cool. Best way to do that is to keep up the pace. You’re doing a good job.
39	From Jenson Button	Yeah this train of cars is very slow. Can’t overtake.
39	To Jenson Button	Copy.
39	To Sergio Perez	Checo how are the tyres?
39	From Sergio Perez	They are good. I don’t know why you stopped me so late.
40	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis track temp is now dropping so pace is coming up for everyone.
41	To Romain Grosjean	Good lap dude. Raikkonen is about two-and-a-half seconds back.
43	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK mate so now we’ve cleared that traffic let’s settle back into a rhythm. Keep it up, you’re doing a good job.
44	To Lewis Hamilton	Lewis we’re coming up on a lot of traffic. Got Kvyat four seconds ahead he’d in a group of eight cars, eight.
46	To Kimi Raikkonen	Box this lap, Kimi.
47	To Lewis Hamilton	You can use overtake to get past these backmarkers. Just be careful, they are racing.
48	From Sebastian Vettel	Are you sure they’re not trying to go to the end? The two Red Bulls in front?
48	To Sebastian Vettel	Ricciardo is trying to go to the end so keep trying.
49	From Romain Grosjean	Guys the front wing doesn’t break any more what’s going on?
49	From Daniel Ricciardo	OK left-rear looks like it’s taken a hit.
50	To Max Verstappen	OK just regroup Max, it’s all good mate. Hard luck. Nice try.
51	To Daniil Kvyat	Let Hulkenberg by.
51	From Daniil Kvyat	Seriously guys [unclear] like this.
51	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	Yeah OK Button passed me beacuse of Max.
53	From Max Verstappen	I hit some debris with my floor.
53	To Max Verstappen	OK thanks for the info Max, we’ll take a look.
54	From Kimi Raikkonen	My left-rear is so [censored by FOM] poor it’s unbelievable.
55	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK mate good job let’s keep pushing. Tyres will be good until the end. Great job.
56	From Jenson Button	Palmer has blue flags now could be an opportunity.
56	To Jolyon Palmer	OK Jo solid blue for Vettel so let him through and then use his DRS after
56	From Sebastian Vettel	What’s wrong? Get out of the way! Easy.
58	To Esteban Gutierrez	Come one mate we want clean laps until the end, OK.
60	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK so you’ve now got clear sight ahead to Vettel. He is ten seconds ahead, he is the next car on the road. Only one or two backmarkers before the end of the race.
63	To Max Verstappen	OK gap now 3.5. Vettel last lap…
63	From Max Verstappen	Yeah I see him coming.
63	To Max Verstappen	OK mate. 22.5 for him.
66	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK so update. Gap six seconds ahead to Vettel. Verstappen is one-and-a-half seconds ahead of Vettel. Let’s keep pushing mate. You will keep those two cars at this pace.
66	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK mate so you can see the gap for yourself ahead now. 4.9 to Vettel. That was another 1.2 quicker.
67	From Fernando Alonso	When he will stop?
67	To Fernando Alonso	Fernando, Palmer does not need to stop.
67	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis so guys are looking at it. So we think strat three would be our best bet. Just keeps us in a nice safe region.
67	From Lewis Hamilton	Do I need to change HPP?
67	To Lewis Hamilton	No leave that where it is.
67	From Lewis Hamilton	You let me know what I need to do, do I need to slow down?
67	To Lewis Hamilton	No there’s no panic Lewis, just making sure we’re super-comfortable thats all.
68	From Max Verstappen	OK give the position, I think you’re going to have to give the position, Max
68	To Max Verstappen	Let me know.
68	From Max Verstappen	OK stay there.
69	From Sebastian Vettel	He has to let me go, he has to let me go.
69	To Sebastian Vettel	OK copy, stay calm.
69	From Sebastian Vettel	No it’s not right. I don’t stay calm. Because he’s just blocking me into Ricciardo
69	To Sebastian Vettel	Copy that.
69	To Sebastian Vettel	OK Verstappen has to give you the position. Watch for Ricciardo behind. Three laps to go.
69	From Sebastian Vettel	Move, move for [censored by FOM] sake.
69	To Sebastian Vettel	He has been informed, he has to move.
69	From Sebastian Vettel	He is a [censored by FOM], that’s what he is.
70	From Sebastian Vettel	I mean am I the only one or are you not seeing what I’m seeing? He’s just backing me off into Ricciardo. [Censored by FOM]
71	To Sebastian Vettel	He has to fight within, you have to fight within. Charlie…
71	From Sebastian Vettel	What the hell are you talking about? He cut the chicane.
71	To Sebastian Vettel	OK copy.
71	From Sebastian Vettel	And now he’s brake-testing me.
71	From Daniel Ricciardo	He moved on braking. I’d already committed.
71	To Max Verstappen	Alright mate this is going to be investigated after the race so keep your head down. Two laps.
71	From Sebastian Vettel	I mean honestly I think I’m going to hit someone. I think I have a puncture. Rear left.
71	To Sebastian Vettel	Tyres are fine, tyres are fine.
71	From Sebastian Vettel	He has to give me the position. End of the story.
71	To Sebastian Vettel	Charlie said that… Charlie said.
71	From Sebastian Vettel	Yeah? You know what? Here’s a message to Charlie: [Censored by FOM] off. Honestly, [censored by FOM] off
71	To Sebastian Vettel	Sebastian, Sebastian calm down. They are under investigation I know that it’s not fair. But calm down. Put your head down and we will talk afterwards.
71	From Sebastian Vettel	OK, copy Maurizio.
VL	From Sebastian Vettel	I think I showed enough. I mean, overtaking is not a walk in the park. So to me it is clear. That’s the last what I’m saying.
VL	To Sebastian Vettel	Sebastian we understand, we talk afterwards and we are going to talk with FIA. You have done a great race, really, I am proud of you.
VL	From Sebastian Vettel	Grazie ragazzi. The car was great, strategy worked well. Shame about yesterday because the pace was there to do more. Grazie.
VL	To Sebastian Vettel	Thank you and well done for the race.
VL	To Jenson Button	P12. Ericsson ahead put on a back-up tyre under the Virtual Safety Car and ran it for the whole race and we were never able to catch him with the traffic.
VL	From Jenson Button	I don’t think our pace was actually that bad it’s obviously just the traffic in the first part of this stint.
VL	To Marcus Ericsson	OK mate very good effort all the way from the back.
VL	From Marcus Ericsson	That’s P11?
VL	To Marcus Ericsson	That’s P11 yeah.
VL	From Marcus Ericsson	No, aw…
VL	To Marcus Ericsson	There was some really close battles at the front there, amazing. We gave it a really good shot there.
VL	From Marcus Ericsson	Still disappointing.
VL	To Marcus Ericsson	Super-close mate. And genuine good pace through the race.
VL	From Marcus Ericsson	Thanks boys.
VL	To Marcus Ericsson	Try again in a couple of weeks.
VL	To Lewis Hamilton	Get in there Lewis. Great result, mate. Really solid weekend. Well done.
VL	From Lewis Hamilton	Great job this weekend, guys, thank you. Thank you, Lewis.
VL	To Nico Hulkenberg	Great job mate so P7.
VL	From Nico Hulkenberg	Thanks guys. It’s a shame with the spin but that happens, that tyre difference and braking on the dirty side and he’s just pushing me in and just turning in. I had to force myself into a spin, otherwise crash.
VL	To Felipe Massa	OK Felipe fantastic drive. I know it’s only P9 but that really was superb keeping him behind. Absoltuely brilliant. Nice job.
VL	From Felipe Massa	Yeah guys thank you. I tried everything so point for the time Will try harder next time.
VL	To Felipe Massa	Great effort, strange run just like Friday, not sure what happens at the beginning but towards the end of the stint as quick or quicker than Valtteri. Great job.
VL	To Sergio Perez	Good job Checo good pace we understand it’s a frustrating race.
VL	From Sergio Perez	Yeah what a shame. I think we could have done a little bit better, no, with the strategy?
VL	To Sergio Perez	Yeah we didn’t quite have the pit windows that we needed with the traffic around us. But we’ll look through that with you.
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	Nice job on that mate.
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	Yeah. But what about all these guys outbreaking at the first chicane? I mean Lewis at the start, that’s just… Put a [censored by FOM] wall there and they won’t do it. Those [censored by FOM] guys. [Censored by FOM] kindergarten stuff.
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK mate understood. You did a very good job today. Pace was excellent. As I said we’re speaking to Charlie.
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	Daniel that was as blatant a move as we’ve ever seen. The event notes are very, very clear. I don’t think you’ve got anything to fear. It was a great effort that you’ve put in and it was a great move that shuold have made stick.
VL	To Nico Rosberg	That was a nice race, Nico, Well controlled with Verstappen.
VL	To Max Verstappen	Ah Max. What can I say, mate. Amazing job. Really well done.
VL	From Max Verstappen	That was hard!
VL	To Max Verstappen	Mode one. 59 laps on that set. Fantastic.
VL	To Max Verstappen	Well done Maxie that was a fantastic drive. No debate about turn one, Ferrari were moaning about it but you were well ahead and it was a lot less than Rosberg did at the beginning of the race. Great drive, managed it well, and it was a great effort on Nico as well.
VL	From Max Verstappen	Yeah thank you very much Christian. It was very hard the last ten laps but at the end I think it was still a good, very good result.

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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Keith Collantine

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90 comments on “2016 Mexican Grand Prix team radio transcript”

Alesici
1st November 2016, 12:11
Keith, I think you might have misinterpreted Alonso’s comment saying that “we are driving for 15 laps with a car that should not be in the race.” It was not his own car he was criticising, but that of Sainz just ahead of him, who he wanted a black flag for, after his scary moment on lap 1. So he was pushing for his engineers to talk to Charlie Whiting.
1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  1st November 2016, 12:28
  I can see where you’re coming from with that. I’m not sure, so I’ll take out the reference to it to be on the safe side.
  1. Tristan
    1st November 2016, 14:25
    If it’s true Brundle owes Alonso an apology, he was brutal in his assessment of that comment.
2. Phylyp (@phylyp)
  1st November 2016, 12:43
  Alesici – that is a good and valid interpretation. I too thought Alonso was having one of his famous moments. Thanks for clarifying that as a possibility. 👍
3. Tommy Scragend
  1st November 2016, 14:55
  But how would that fit in with “So do your job, I’m doing mine”?
  Sounds to me like he is criticising his own team.
  1. ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
    1st November 2016, 15:56
    “So do your job, I’m doing mine”
    Yeah. I thought that Alonso was referring to other driver that held him up when I heard he complain about car not suppose in the race.
    But that line change the meaning completely.
    1. kanan
      1st November 2016, 16:10
      Or maybe he means “do your job, go complain about him” or something.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
1st November 2016, 12:16
Interesting that drivers see and track brake/oil/other temperatures themselves (going by Hamilton and Gutierrez’s messages). Hamilton’s message is illuminating in that he sees a delta, not just a warning because the temperatures are out of range.
These guys are masters of multitasking. I struggle to change the volume via the steering wheel when I turn my car.
Bridgemkr
1st November 2016, 13:04
Gotta love today’s F1, Lewis asking if he needs to slow down.
1. Tim M (@tim-m)
  1st November 2016, 16:17
  Prost would have done the same.
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
1st November 2016, 13:27
Not surprised to hear Nasr moaning about letting Ericsson pass him again. Remember how that went in Monaco? After refusing for many laps, Ericsson decided to take matters into his own hands and that didn’t turn out all too well for any of them. The Brazilian is clearly not happy about losing out to Ericsson.
1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
  1st November 2016, 13:42
  @chrischrill – After the Monaco incident you’re referring to, Monisha must’ve been thinking “I need to sign 4 drivers for next year.”
2. Kie
  1st November 2016, 14:47
  Deffo not the best of friends are they…
3. João Macedo (@macedo)
  1st November 2016, 19:16
  What the brazilian media are saying is that Sauber is mad at Nasr because he’s taking the Banco do Brasil’s sponsorship away from them at the end of the season. If that’s true or not, I don’t know, but it is very strange to see Ericsson always ahead of Nasr this season considering how better the brazilian was in the same car last season. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised to know that Sauber are putting all their cards into Ericsson. Not the fair move, but a possible one.
  1. Sir Kaiser (@gpracing)
    1st November 2016, 23:53
    Now that you said, it’s really weird to see all this difference between two cars with the same setup. Maybe Ericsson has got some new parts that Nasr didn’t. I believe Nasr is the better driver, but it’s hard to say after these late results.
  2. Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
    2nd November 2016, 7:48
    @macedo: Let’s be real, Sauber need that point to beat Manor. They wouldn’t waste that kind of money just to make Nasr look bad.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
1st November 2016, 13:28
Listening to the message which tipped Vettel over the edge made me think of this.
1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
  1st November 2016, 13:39
  @keithcollantine – Ow, my eyes! You ought to put in a photosensitive seizure warning with that link. 😁
2. Martijn (@)
  1st November 2016, 13:44
  Haha, nice one
3. Adrian HX
  1st November 2016, 13:45
  Epic – simply epic. And I am old enough to remember the actual adverts too !
4. do
  1st November 2016, 13:48
  So now the transcript clears VES of not listening and was just following what the pit told him to do, the Max bashing should be over, right?….. (at least for now)
  Or is that not interesting to a lot of people, who just want to hear / listen to what they want suits them. Seems a lot like the political trend these days. Not good IM not so HO.
  A lot of the 400 plus negative reactions towards VES in other treads was IMO due to lack of knowledge of what actually transpired. So why is it that we do not see a clear article now on what happened so we can have a proper discussion with correct facts on the subject. (are RBR really that smart/low/devilish to use this as a tactics – choose your favorite-) Or is that not a clickable headline???
  We should actually wonder why not the complete radio message was not aired at the time.
  -putting on tin foiled hat-
  did the FOM expect the fallout, the Vettel mess up because he is a frustrated soul at the moment?
  Still wierd that they did not air it
  1. bosyber (@bosyber)
    1st November 2016, 14:02
    It was pretty clear, quite quickly already that it was Ferrari that gave Vettel a wrong impression during the race, not helping his already steaming brain. Telling that at the end Maurizio (arrivabene I assume) had to really talk him down. Might well be Red Bull were cheeky too, but that’s allowed.
  2. regs (@regs)
    1st November 2016, 14:57
    He also sais
    3 From Max Verstappen Mate, he just turned into me. I was in front of Nico he just cut the track.
    Videos we just seen from every angle shows different – Ves is blatant liar. Ros was in front and Ver just pushed him off the track.
    1. F1ed (@rinodina)
      1st November 2016, 16:22
      The moment ROS cut the track VES was indeed in front.
      I can understand ROS. He was heading for the curb and didn’t want to take the risk of damaging his car.
      1. regs (@regs)
        1st November 2016, 18:15
        He was in front because was pushing Rosberg off. Rosberg had to turn right. If he wouldn’t he could get out of race and could lose championship. Ves should have been penalized +10 sec just for that. If everyone would stay within lines this would lead to collision.
        http://imgur.com/IVnATLF
      2. regs (@regs)
        1st November 2016, 18:15
        left*
      3. regs (@regs)
        1st November 2016, 18:22
        He pushed him off entirely. Didn’t left Rosberg even a centimeter on a track. That does worth 10 seconds penalty. Kimi and Rosberg were penalized for same in Sochi last year and in Austria.
        http://imgur.com/KjwPodE
        http://imgur.com/J915zRO
    2. Matn
      1st November 2016, 19:49
      I fairly believe when a driver comes along side on the inside has the full righ to the racing line, logically Rosberg had to yield, but he took on the battle for the corner… which in all fairness was good racing.
      Verstappen could have pushed him wide… but instead they slightly touched unintentially cause he came from the dirty side of the track losing grip.
      It was a hard corner for Rsoberg to keep, the line he chose outside of the track was quite remarkable, it wasn;t even a straight line but chose to avoid the kerb and cut the whole corner.
      Touching isn’t allowed, however this was clealry unintential, cutting the corner isn’t allowed as well and this was quite clear intentially. If I would have penallized either one…? I don’t think so, leaving it as a racing incident seemed in place.
  3. Sam
    2nd November 2016, 11:25
    Red Bull said “OK give the position, I think you’re going to have to give the position, Max”
    So this doesn’t clear him.
    1. Aapje (@aapje)
      2nd November 2016, 15:23
      ‘I think’ is not a team order.
      Max asked: “Let me know.”
      His team said: “OK stay there.”
  4. Drg
    2nd November 2016, 15:03
    Appreciate he is your boy but he has been racing long enough to know you give the place up automatically.
    No ifs, no buts – it is what you do in any other series. He has raced enough to know that.
    There is only some question about it in F1. Due to truly ridiculous management.
    After the mess that was Spa 08 – the rules are pretty clear and anyone not seeing this as Red Bull again pulling a stunt with a couple of willing drivers (slowing then a dive bomb) is truly fooling them selves.
    It’s racing Jim, but not as we know it…
do
1st November 2016, 13:49
So now the transcript clears VES of not listening and was just following what the pit told him to do, the Max bashing should be over, right?….. (at least for now)
Or is that not interesting to a lot of people, who just want to hear / listen to what they want suits them. Seems a lot like the political trend these days. Not good IM not so HO.
A lot of the 400 plus negative reactions towards VES in other treads was IMO due to lack of knowledge of what actually transpired. So why is it that we do not see a clear article now on what happened so we can have a proper discussion with correct facts on the subject. (are RBR really that smart/low/devilish to use this as a tactics – choose your favorite-) Or is that not a clickable headline???
We should actually wonder why not the complete radio message was not aired at the time.
-putting on tin foiled hat-
did the FOM expect the fallout, the Vettel mess up because he is a frustrated soul at the moment?
Still wierd that they did not air it
1. Fantoulo
  1st November 2016, 16:14
  I don’t love nor hate Verstappen. But I do find it funny that you seem just as biased as the people whom you’re criticizing. If there were ‘correct facts’, then we wouldn’t have a problem, but there aren’t. There are qualitative interpretations. You can’t judge whether or not a driver should do something using numbers. Is Verstappen shown unfair lenience because he has so many fans, and he’s good for the popularity of the sport? Maybe. Maybe not. A case can be made for both. It may have happened for Hamilton in the first lap too. Does he run other drivers off the road a lot? Yep. Should it be allowed? Up to you. Point being, it’s a bit obtuse to try to make it seem like YOU’RE the one who’s right by saying that you’re backed up by facts, when really it’s just your opinion. There are enough hypocrites in this sport.
  1. F1ed (@rinodina)
    1st November 2016, 16:37
    But I do find it funny that you seem just as biased as the people whom you’re criticizing. If there were ‘correct facts’, then we wouldn’t have a problem, but there aren’t.
    He has a point though. Many so called couch experts started bashing VES right after the end of the race, before they knew what was actually transmitted over the radio. It just shows there’s a lot of negative preoccupation towards VES.
    1. Rockie
      1st November 2016, 20:45
      Unfortunately both of you have made the same wrong judgement, FIA have further released radio chatter, which Redbull were told to give the place back, which was why Ferrari told Vettel (Max) was supposed to.
      1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
        2nd November 2016, 14:06
        FIA have further released radio chatter
        Where?
      2. tom
        2nd November 2016, 14:13
        where can I see the additional chatter?
      3. Drg
        2nd November 2016, 15:07
        James Allan is reporting that the team was told by the FIA to give the place up.
        Red Bull being red bull – well the rest is history repeating.
        They knew what they were doing and while I am no fan of the red team, nor the outburst, that was s’£Getty racing.
        The sad thing is it worked.
      4. Mike
        2nd November 2016, 19:57
        http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/24096/10639883/martin-brundle-on-the-mexican-gp-stewards-decisions-and-why-lewis-hamilton-wasnt-penalised
        “What’s important to stress is that at no point did Race Control instruct Verstappen to give back position to Sebastian Vettel near the end of the race. “
      5. tom
        3rd November 2016, 8:56
        question is, does Brundle have access to all radio comms?
naz3012 (@naz3012)
1st November 2016, 13:52
Assuming the message from Verstappen on lap 3 was regarding the incident with rosberg at the start, that’s a very interesting view in my opinion. Clearly shows Max’s thinking when it comes to racecraft and overtaking.
To me it sounds as if he’s been brought up thinking that if someone is on the outside and you squeeze them towards the edge of the cicruit, then they have absolutely no right to fight back or “turn in” as Max called it.
Without Bernie’s walls or the barriers at a street circuit, this sets a horrible precedent of it being ok to bully people off the track and then complain that they, in fact, attacked you. There’s a major lack of respect there and while it might take skill to brake that late and keep your car alongside, allowing you to squeeze them off, there’s a point where you have to say “fair play”, give some space and then fight back at the next corner.
1. sethje (@seth-space)
  1st November 2016, 14:42
  Well not so strange if you follow the racing line. VES was exaclty on the racing line and as a result of the quite massive lockup in the corner it was genius how he kept the car on track. Do not forget ROS was already outside the track limits and as such never should had come back the way he did.
  But during the start some leniency is allowed i guess..
  1. regs (@regs)
    1st November 2016, 15:16
    There is a video in next article that clearly shows that Rosberg was in front of Ver and was going perfectly into the croner until was pushed of by Ver, so he had to turn right to avoid collision. In same situation versus Ham in Austria Rosberg was penalized. Yet when Kvyat bypasses Grosjean outside the track who went 4 wheels outside track as well, he gets 5 seconds and points…
    Those two races stewards were at worst in 25 years i watch F1.
  2. ia
    1st November 2016, 16:11
    Let’s imagine that Rosberg was next to Lewis in the first corner. Same or worse would have happened between Lewis&Nico as between Max&Nico.
    The right side of the track was dirty and caused sliding. That was mentioned before the race: the right side is the dirty side of the track. That’s were Max and Lewis went.
2. Epoll611
  1st November 2016, 14:43
  The other could brake if not he is choosing an other path.!
3. regs (@regs)
  1st November 2016, 15:34
  Would be right for Red Bull to move Ver back to Toro Rosso and give Sainz place in Red Bull for last two races. So Sainz would able to show what he capable of and Ver will face Kvyat. And then they could decide who of 3 is better for a seat in Red Bull next year.
  1. kanan
    1st November 2016, 16:12
    Haha that’d be great!
  2. Arnoud van Houwelingen
    1st November 2016, 16:50
    That doesn’t make sense at all . Verstappen has proven in the first year and first 4 races This year he is superior to Sainz.
  3. sethje (@seth-space)
    1st November 2016, 20:45
    It seems you really have a antipathy for Verstappen. Not much facts but just trolling. Pity!
    1. regs (@regs)
      2nd November 2016, 13:17
      Then Ver fanatics does same against everybody.
  4. Jon (@johns23)
    2nd November 2016, 3:57
    You haven’t seen enough of Verstappen yet?
4. Mark Jackson
  1st November 2016, 16:22
  that ramming another driver off track when he’s ahead at corner exit is called the Hamilton Suzuka Special. If Ham can get away with it, why can’t Max?
  1. Drg
    2nd November 2016, 15:10
    Are you seriously?
    Or five years old?
    If someone smacks you over the head with a hammer and is not caught – is it ok if I do it?
bosyber (@bosyber)
1st November 2016, 14:04
My, there was quite a bit of *beeping* around from several drivers wasn’t there! Interesting to see Ricciardo say elsewhere that he might say thinks like Vettel did but only w/o radio on – guess he didn’t at the end here either. Given he got another set of 3rd place points, I guess he can put a brave face to it :)
do
1st November 2016, 14:08
and did you (and Toto too for that matter) react in this way when HAM squeezed ROS out of the track in corner one several times last year? Or is that allowed when you are the championship leader and not allowed when against the championship leader?
1. do
  1st November 2016, 14:09
  sorry was a reply @naz3012
Tristan
1st November 2016, 14:23
“He has to fight within, you have to fight within. Charlie…”
What kind of comment was that to Vettel? Huge questions need to be asked of the Ferrari pit wall. The situation was already hard enough for Vettel, no need to spout utter nonsense to just confuse things further.
I know the personnel would like to stay together and grow stronger, but these errors are not building confidence of that possibility in the slightest.
1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
  1st November 2016, 14:31
  Seb did respond with a “What the hell are you talking about? ” 😁
  That said, the egregious error of that episode was for the pitwall to inform Vettel he’ll be given the place back, when Race Control had made no such decision. They just (mis)heard the Red Bull chatter and made an erroneous conclusion from that.
  Whoever the person is in the Ferrari garage who monitors the radio channel is probably in for strong words from Maurizio.
2. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  1st November 2016, 14:32
  His race engineer (Ricardo Adami) did sound very hesitant in a few of those messages. Which given Vettel’s increasingly explosive reactions is probably not that great a surprise. And you always have to wonder what was in previous messages which weren’t heard.
3. Tommy Scragend
  1st November 2016, 14:57
  Was it definitely “within”?
  “You have to fight with him” would make more sense, i.e. he isn’t going to give you the place, if you want it you have to overtake him.
4. grapmg (@)
  1st November 2016, 15:49
  Probably it was : Whiting, Charlie… (reference that they had to talk to Charlie Whiting)?
  Very funny to read all these radio transcripts.
  The last radiomessage of Ricciardo pretty much sums it all up.
  From Daniel Ricciardo Yeah. But what about all these guys outbreaking at the first chicane? I mean Lewis at the start, that’s just… Put a [censored by FOM] wall there and they won’t do it. Those [censored by FOM] guys. [Censored by FOM] kindergarten stuff.
  1. kanan
    1st November 2016, 16:13
    It mostly says “[Censored by FOM]”
    1. F1ed (@rinodina)
      1st November 2016, 16:42
      Yeah, [Censored by FOM] could be anything. It could be [mod], or [mod], or even [double mod].
Israel
1st November 2016, 15:38
I really think that the best way to avoid taking advantage cutting a turn instead of a sanction is the use of a wall or bumps… everyone would be punished fair and square.
1. Jon (@johns23)
  2nd November 2016, 4:43
  Gravel?
ia
1st November 2016, 15:57
It’s clear what caused Vettel to blow up:
“OK Verstappen has to give you the position. Watch for Ricciardo behind. Three laps to go.”
Fact was that race control had not ordered Max to give up his position, so Vettel blew up because his team gave him false information.
Ferrari is a mess.
1. mhoog
  1st November 2016, 17:59
  The rule is that if you have a unfair advantage you must give the spot back, not that race control must order you. Looking at the messages RBR knew that Ves should give the spot to Vet, but instead they let Ves back Vet into Ric and give him a brake test. No wonder that Vet exploded.
  Ric would have got third spot anyway, he was quick enough. But RBR and Ves showed again unsportsmanship like behavior, what caused unsportsmanship behavior in Vet.
  FIA should not see incidents as they are in there microsecond of happening, but also at the picture leading up to it. This probably would lead to less penalty’s and cut unsportsmanship behavior
  1. kanan
    1st November 2016, 18:05
    I don’t know. Ricciardo was catching the guys in front fast. But looking at his and Vettel’s lap times, he might have had a lap or not even that to overtake Vettel if Verstappen didn’t hold Vettel back. I wouldn’t say he’d finish 3rd anyway.
  2. ia
    1st November 2016, 18:13
    “The rule is that if you have a unfair advantage you must give the spot back, not that race control must order you. ”
    So if that was true, why didn’t race control order Max to do it, after he chose to not to give up his spot to Vettel (because in his eyes he didn’t gain an advantage)?
    Or why didn’t Hamilton not give up his spot then? He said he was expecting to hear something from race control but was kind of surprised he didn’t.
    So if it is up to the drivers to decide if they gained an advantage, no one would give up his spot because all drivers always think they are right. That’s why there is race control.
    1. mhoog
      1st November 2016, 19:33
      So if that was true, why didn’t race control order Max to do it, after he chose to not to give up his spot to Vettel (because in his eyes he didn’t gain an advantage)?
      Have you ever noticed the time between under investigation and the penalty? It takes them time. Why do you think Ves wasn’t allowed on the podium, decision was made.
      Or why didn’t Hamilton not give up his spot then? He said he was expecting to hear something from race control but was kind of surprised he didn’t.
      Because he lifted and gave back the time he gained. Also racecontrol is more leanant on the first corner of the first lap, or else Ves would have had a penalty there also. Ham has been investigated also
      So if it is up to the drivers to decide if they gained an advantage, no one would give up his spot because all drivers always think they are right. That’s why there is race control.
      Well most if not al drivers actually give op there spot in these cases. That’s why most do not like unsportsmanship drivers.
  3. Drg
    2nd November 2016, 15:16
    Spot on – the fact is Max V has raced long enough to know you give the place up..
    Look at the Spa 08 mess. LH did exactly what was required of the rules in all forms of racing immediately.
    He still got punished.
    You do not wait to be ordered – or get a flag pit warning or whatever if you do not want to be seriously done.
    Yet despite even clarified rules RB and MV and the team as whole literally cheated a podium by screaming ‘but look what they did’
    It’s frankly disgusting race management and suggests that core of ridiculous sporting none code is still running deep.
    The sad thing is it has infected two really good racers…
ILuvSoundtracks (@)
1st November 2016, 16:40
“Yeah. But what about all these guys outbreaking at the first chicane? I mean Lewis at the start, that’s just… Put a [censored by FOM] wall there and they won’t do it. Those [censored by FOM] guys. [Censored by FOM] kindergarten stuff.”
Well, guess Vettel wasn’t the only one angry…
steve
1st November 2016, 17:09
I understand Vettel’s outburst but think he deserves a stiff fine.
VES is way too arrogant and seems to believe all the over-hype he gets from the press and others. He has been in way too many questionable “incidents” and if F1 needs him to spark the fans interest they are in even bigger trouble than I think.
VET’s block on RIC was perfectly legal and any driver worth their salt would have done the same thing.
I am a fan of RIC’s but was taken back by the way he whined about VET after the race and campaigned to have him penalized – childish to me. It seems F1 drivers have become wimpy.
1. Nolog
  1st November 2016, 19:06
  You are contradicting yourself, your hate vs the new kid on the block that many old F1 fans of the current established drivers got is only driven by the fear that VES is going to be better in the future. VES is no hype, he delivered it last year as the youngest ever F1 driver, he delivers it this year while switching teams mid-season, of course he made mistakes and he still is going to make mistakes, but his talent is incredible, the way he overtakes at places no one has ever seen before, defending way on the limit, he get’s in the brain of the established drivers. No hype, all facts, just listen to the post race comments of Vettel.
  “It seems F1 drivers have become wimpy”, well not VES!
  Sometimes the thing you want, is right in front of you.
  Just try to accept it.
  And yes, VES is what F1 needed in a long time. Just remove all the “incidents” your talking about away this season, or maybe last season, and just take a good hard look at what you end up with.
  1. kanan
    1st November 2016, 22:52
    And you think you don’t contradict yourself… Your post is hilarious as an answer to the OP.
    1. VA
      3rd November 2016, 20:14
      Kanan and Steve….sorry excuses for being F1 fans. You never saw real racing…
Rockie
1st November 2016, 17:33
“VL To Max Verstappen Well done Maxie that was a fantastic drive. No debate about turn one, Ferrari were moaning about it but you were well ahead and it was a lot less than Rosberg did at the beginning of the race. Great drive, managed it well, and it was a great effort on Nico as well.”
This is very funny from Redbull, were they really comparing when Max pushed Rosberg of at turn one to Max avoiding two corners?
Also Charlie got on the blower to Ferrari and not to Redbull, he should have immediately refered it to the stewards and Redbull would have done the needful to avoid further penalty.
umur
1st November 2016, 18:01
Vettel looks cute in that pic.
kanan
1st November 2016, 18:02
Jolyon is apparently called Jo.
Abhishek
1st November 2016, 18:50
Vettel is such a useless driver ever seen in F1..he is worthless champ and doesn’t know how to drive in traffic..he called Massa stupid which is not acceptable at any form..he was fast in straight and Vettel could not pass him..he is complaining for everything.maybe he doesn’t want competition at all like he won 4 WDC..Screw you Vettel it’s time to retire…you are the most arrogant guy in the grid..now he knows how Fernando and Felipe drove that shit Ferrari..
Sviatoslav (@)
1st November 2016, 21:06
What Verstappen said on third lap translates into this situation:
I approach someone, hit this person with a stick, everybody sees it, and then I, holding the stick in my hand, tell: “This guy hit me with the stick!”
This is unbelievable.
1. Smurfler
  1st November 2016, 22:12
  He was completely right to say that…he was following the racing line were Rosberg was off line. Rosberg should have backed out of it. Why do you think Rosberg said nothing on the board radio? Bet it had nothing to do with him suddenly being speechless and everything with him not wanting to put attention on the matter. We all know how truthfull he can be…….
  1. kanan
    1st November 2016, 22:48
    Why do YOU think Rosberg said nothing on the radio? Because it’s not here in the transcript? There’re tons of stuff they don’t put in here. Important stuff too. There’s stuff missing even from Vettel/Ferrari and Verstappen/Red Bull/Ricciardo conversations.
    Also, Verstappen clearly pushed Rosberg off the track.
ia
1st November 2016, 22:20
Everybody has an opinion about the Max/Vettel clash. But no one even knows the facts.
Brundle says race control didn’t tell Max to give up his position.
But Ferrari tells Vettel they did.
So how bad does that make look Max, or Vettel?
1. tom
  2nd November 2016, 11:29
  Does Brundle have access to all radio messages during race?
  anywhere to see the full transcripts?
2. Tristan
  2nd November 2016, 13:40
  But no one even knows the facts.
  The facts are pretty well established at this point, and it’s in the past… The people who came out looking the worst are undoubtedly Vettel, Ferrari and the FIA. Max did very little wrong to be honest, bar the mistake, for which he received a standard penalty.
AceAce
2nd November 2016, 7:08
Hate to say it, but that Williams chassis is abysmal. Perez and Vettel were compromised by that donkey in sector 3. Without that merc engine Williams would be fighting with Sauber and Renault. It was irritating watching Williams holding up Force india and Ferrari in sector 3 and the rest of the circuit that didnt have straights, especially Massa in his first stint. Absolute donkey of a car . They had a good run though when they touched lucky with that merc engine and and decided to go drag racing. But the jigs up.
1. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
  2nd November 2016, 18:33
  What is the problem with holding a car they are racing against up? Its good that they can do that and since Perez couldn’t get past Massa for all that time even with DRS shows sort of shows that the Williams can’t be that bad. Perez couldn’t get past because the Williams chassis is good for these sort of tracks. It is easily the most slippery in a strait line out the Mercedes powered cars and also probably out of every teams car too. Being bad in some areas can have massive advantages in others. I have to say that Massa did a good job as keeping Perez behind for that amount of time. It won’t have been that easy since Perez was in the DRS zone most of the time. And the fact that he also help up Vettel was perfectly reasonable too. He wasn’t getting lapped so there was nothing wrong with what he was doing. If you are saying the Williams is that bad in corners, then Vettel should have been able to overtake way sooner and Perez should have got past and beaten Massa too. But the Williams was obviously good enough round the corners to hold Perez behind. It’s not like Force India don’t have a Mercedes engine too. They could have made their car more slippery if they wanted to get better results at hight speed tracks.
  To me, it is rather silly calling the Williams an “Absolute donkey of a car” when they are either going to finish 5th or even 4th in the championship. I know they won’t have been as good if it wasn’t for their Mercedes power, but then neither would Force India have been as good. I am completely sure that Williams will have beaten Renault and Sauber by a huge amount no matter what engine they have. Their slippery designed Chassis is really well suited to certain tracks.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
3rd November 2016, 10:56
AMuS got their hands on a few messages which weren’t broadcast and some uncensored stuff too:
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/vettel-mexiko-boxenfunk-verstappen-ist-ein-bastard-11584272.html
Harmster
3rd November 2016, 17:31
Correction on the transcript: on lap 68, red bull tell VES “OK keep the position. I think you might have to give the position back, Max.”