2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix team radio transcript

2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

The tension was cranked up to eleven on the Mercedes pit wall as the laps ticked down towards the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The team was in the unprecedented situation of having both its cars in the lead but one of them actively trying to prevent them finishing first and second. As Lewis Hamilton backed off more and more as he hoped someone would put a pass on his team mate, Mercedes’ calls for him to pick up the pace grew ever more urgent,

They reached a peak when executive director for technical Paddy Lowe took over the microphone from Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington and demanded the race leader improve his pace. But the calls of the pit wall proved impotent – Hamilton simply ignored them.

Meanwhile second-placed Nico Rosberg was grasping at straws as he called on Mercedes to do something about his team mate. His suggestion that Hamilton be told to let him through must rank as the year’s most optimistic radio message.

But ten laps later the chequered flag had fallen and everything had changed for the new champion. Rosberg’ wife Vivian joined in the congratulations on the radio as the fireworks exploded in the sky above Yas Marina.

From Hamilton, nothing more was broadcast.

Go ad-free for just £1 per month

>> Find out more and sign up

2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix team radio transcript

Below are all the team radio messages which appeared in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race coverage:

Lap* Driver Message
PR From Daniil Kvyat I have some vibration in between turn eight and nine. Don’t know where.
PR From Daniil Kvyat The rear-right is losing sometimes, some rear snaps. Brakes slightly pulling.
PR To Romain Grosjean

OK Romain you can go to the grid. P14, left-hand side, see you there.
PR From Romain Grosjean OK going to the grid.
PR To Romain Grosjean

Good job Romain, good job!
PR From Romain Grosjean Yeah, I will not respond to that one!
PR From Nico Rosberg There’s this yellow arrow showing the [unclear].
PR To Nico Rosberg

It’s a demo, don’t worry about it.
PR To Pascal Wehrlein

Can’t believe I’m going to say this but we’ve got six-and-a-half minutes to wait now.
PR From Pascal Wehrlein Can I jump out again?
PR To Kimi Raikkonen

So that track temperature is now starting to move down to 32. For info Kimi we’ve only got five cars starting on primes. I’ll let you know which ones later. Should be a bit easier on strategy.
PR To Kevin Magnussen

So remember pit lane speed is on. Good luck, mate.
FL From Felipe Nasr The grip is quite good, the starting point.
2 To Jolyon Palmer

OK Jo very good so far. P11. Keep pushing, mate.
3 From Kevin Magnussen I’ve got damage now.
3 To Kevin Magnussen

OK what damage is is Kev? Front wing? Is it a puncture, Kev? Talk to us about the damage. You need to box, do you?
3 From Kevin Magnussen It’s front wing and suspension I think.
3 To Kevin Magnussen

OK.
4 From Romain Grosjean Mate, check my front wing. I don’t know if it’s all OK.
4 To Romain Grosjean

Wing looks OK in data.
4 From Romain Grosjean I got pushed out of the track by the Red Bull. Like ridiculous. I got pushed everywhere in the first few laps. Just a joke. I don’t know what that was, was just not fair.
4 To Romain Grosjean

Understood, mate. Let’s get into a rhythm. We’re still OK, still on our plan.
4 To Jenson Button

Jenson consider red A3 for turn one. Same approach as qualifying.
4 From Jenson Button Roger.
5 From Felipe Massa Fernando passed me outside of the track.
5 From Max Verstappen Didn’t get much space there.
5 To Max Verstappen

Understood Max.
5 From Max Verstappen Do I have any damage on the front wing?
5 To Max Verstappen

We’re checking everything at the moment. How does the car feel?
5 From Max Verstappen All OK for the moment.
5 To Max Verstappen

OK mate, understood.
5 To Kevin Magnussen

OK Kev I’m very sorry but we’re going to have to retire the car, box this lap. Suspension damage looks too bad to continue. Box, box.
6 From Valtteri Bottas I think something is wrong with the rear dampers. The car is bouncing like hell.
6 To Valtteri Bottas

Copy stand by.
6 From Valtteri Bottas I think rear suspension.
6 To Valtteri Bottas

Copy, we see the issue in the data. Let Felipe through.
6 From Valtteri Bottas Copy.
6 To Valtteri Bottas

We’ll continue, I don’t think there is anything we can do.
6 From Jenson Button Palmer just cut across turn 11 to stay in front.
6 To Jenson Button

Copy Jenson, Copy.
6 From Nico Hulkenberg I got hit on the rear. I think I have some damage. I have massive vibration, Puncture, rear-left or something.
6 To Nico Hulkenberg

No puncture, pressures OK, no puncture.
7 To Valtteri Bottas

Box Valtteri. We’ll drive it back into the garage and we’ll have a look. We won’t retire.
7 To Kevin Magnussen

We’ll leave you in the car, we’ll assess the damage. I don’t know if there’s any chance we’ll go back out but let’s assess the damage, stay in the car please.
8 To Daniel Ricciardo

OK the Ferraris are starting to struggled with front tyres.
8 From Kimi Raikkonen Hey he’s really going now so don’t waste time.
9 From Nico Hulkenberg The undercut will be massive now. We need to stop now.
9 To Nico Hulkenberg

Pit this lap, pit confirm.
10 To Nico Rosberg

So they’re purposely making Verstappen slow, you need to get past him.
11 To Nico Rosberg

So don’t take any risks with Verstappen. You’re doing the right thing.
11 To Kimi Raikkonen

We’re low on battery Kimi, just be careful with K1, I know you need it, though.
11 To Pascal Wehrlein

OK Pascal you were over a second a lap quicker than all the cars ahead last lap. Let’s keep it up. Make sure we don’t take too much out of think front tyres, think about switches.
12 To Nico Rosberg

Looking after that front tyre, right-front tyre.
14 From Jenson Button Something feels a bit wrong with the steering. Yeah, we got a failure guys.
14 To Jenson Button

Copy, Jenson, copy. We’re looking at the data. Yeah Jenson we can see a mechanical problem. Front-right wheel problem. Pull over where it’s safe. Jenson if you’re able to return to the garage that’s OK, just take care, take great care. You’ve got Palmer, Gutierrez close behind. OK Jenson Wehrlein’s the last car, once Wehrlein’s by track is clear, you can box.
14 From Jenson Button I don’t think we’ve ever had a failure like this. Anyway it’s done now.
14 To Jenson Button

Yeah Jenson that was going well I think. But just stop, we’ll put you on trolleys and wheel you back into thre garage.
15 To Max Verstappen

OK Max this is all we need at the moment. Excellent job. Just keep it clean.
15 To Felipe Massa

Great job on Grosjean. So now the two Force Indias, close up on them.
15 From Max Verstappen I think I’m starting to lose the rear tyre a little bit,
15 To Max Verstappen

OK, understood.
16 To Romain Grosjean

OK next behind is Alonso on soft. We’re happy on our plan, we’re doing our own race, so we just need to make sure our lap time is optimal for us.
16 From Romain Grosjean Well everyone is overtaking us, it is not easy.
17 To Carlos Sainz Jnr

Yellow between ten and eleven. Danny parked the car on the left.
17 From Lewis Hamilton There’s a lot of overall sliding on these tyres, particularly at the front.
18 To Lewis Hamilton

Tyre temps are cool front and rear, that’s where some of the sliding might come from. Just be careful we’re not going to grain them.
19 From Daniil Kvyat Agh false neutral
19 To Daniil Kvyat

Clutch up-shift.
19 From Daniil Kvyat Doesn’t work. What should I do?
19 To Daniil Kvyat

OK pull over and stop the car, we have a gearbox problem.
19 From Daniil Kvyat Worked, worked. Ah [censored by FOM]. OK, now, yeah it’s a problem.
19 To Daniil Kvyat

OK try to pull the car in a safe place. Sorry for that. Gearbox issue.
20 To Nico Rosberg

So it’s critical now that we start passing Verstappen.
20 From Max Verstappen It’s getting a little more difficult for me at the moment.
20 To Max Verstappen

Undetstood, Max.
20 From Max Verstappen But I think we shouldn’t box. We are quick.
20 To Max Verstappen

Copy. We’re not planning on boxing just yet, mate.
20 From Fernando Alonso Why we are P10? We didn’t overtake one Red Bull at the start that crashed?
20 To Fernando Alonso

We’ve lost one position to Massa and the Red Bull that crashed was able to rejoin so they are still ahead of us.
21 To Nico Rosberg

OK so catch the back of Lewis, good job.
21 From Max Verstappen Yeah they certainly got a little more damaged now.
21 To Max Verstappen

Yeah stay out for the minute, Max. Stick with it.
22 To Esteban Gutierrez

Ericsson in front hasn’t stopped yet and is almost two seconds slower than you. Come on.
22 To Nico Rosberg

So Nico next three more laps are critical. Verstappen is going to the end.
23 From Nico Rosberg How much am I pushing now?
23 To Nico Rosberg

We’re just trying to get a gap behind.
23 From Nico Rosberg That doesn’t tell me anything.
24 From Pascal Wehrlein Come on, he has to leave me a bit of space.
24 To Pascal Wehrlein

Just keep the pressure on Nasr.
24 From Pascal Wehrlein And he’s changing direction many times.
25 From Sebastian Vettel I asked you four laps ago either we go early or go long. Now I;’m just stuck in traffic for nothing.
25 To Sebastian Vettel

We have threat from Verstappen on one stop so we nned to go long at the moment.
25 From Sebastian Vettel Yeah of course but if all the cars in front are doing the same of us we have no chance of doing anything either so we just finish in sixth.
25 To Sebastian Vettel

Copy that. I’ll let you know.
26 From Nico Rosberg Losing time out of turn ten because of the over-loads.
26 To Nico Rosberg

OK but that’s safety-critical at the moment.
26 To Daniel Ricciardo

OK be very close to Raikkonen at the pit exit. Push now, let’s get him.
27 From Romain Grosjean What was that, OK? Where did he want me to go? Ask the FIA what I should do – I was in front he just pushed me wide.
27 To Romain Grosjean

Understood, we saw it, we’ll report it.
28 From Nico Rosberg How is my race looking?
28 To Nico Rosberg

P2 is safe at the moment.
28 From Nico Rosberg That’s good to know.
28 To Lewis Hamilton

OK Lewis box, box.
29 To Esteban Gutierrez

Spark three for maximum performance, come on boy.
29 To Daniel Ricciardo

OK Daniel so Verstappen ahead is on thtree lap older stops than us. Vettel is still running on his stint two, he may go long and fit the super-soft at the end.
30 To Kimi Raikkonen

Update on race situatuion. Seb is still out on primes, he is 21 seconds ahead. Obviously Verstappen, Ricciardo in front going to the end like you.
30 To Esteban Gutierrez

Need to have him now.
31 To Max Verstappen

OK Max pace on Daniel’s first soft stint, the front-right was the limitation, OK.
31 To Nico Rosberg

So situation 26 laps remaining, you’re going to the end. Verstappen is the car behind you, he’s also going to the end, he’s on eight lap older tyres. So most important, look after that front.
32 To Lewis Hamilton

Question: Just wondering why you’re so slow? Currently unsafe to Vettel.
33 From Lewis Hamilton How’s this pace?
33 To Lewis Hamilton

We’d be happy with a 45.3.
33 To Esteban Gutierrez

Good job, boy, come on. Next one is Ericsson.
34 From Lewis Hamilton Has everyone stopped?
34 To Lewis Hamilton

Negative, we have Vettel ahead, he’s yet to stop. 24-lap-old soft tyres.
34 From Lewis Hamilton Only Vettel ahead, yeah?
34 To Lewis Hamilton

Affirm. And he’s just inside our Safety Car window.
35 From Lewis Hamilton What position am I in?
35 To Lewis Hamilton

Currently P2. So ned more management turn two, less in three.
35 From Nico Rosberg Pace is very slow again. Not great for a late Safety Car.
36 From Sebastian Vettel OK these tyres are really starting to go down, now.
36 To Sebastian Vettel

Copy that, and copy tyre phase.
36 From Lewis Hamilton Is Vettel one-stopping?
36 To Lewis Hamilton

We don’t believe so Lewis. But he may be a threat later in the race if he takes the super-soft.
36 To Esteban Gutierrez

We are now in 12th position. I need clean and clear laps until the end. Come on, boy.
36 To Romain Grosjean

Really good laps, dude, really good.
37 From Marcus Ericsson You need to pit me before they catch me.
37 To Marcus Ericsson

Yep, it’s all under control.
39 From Marcus Ericsson Why? Now I lose everything because they’re catching me.
39 To Marcus Ericsson

Negative. It will be this lap, box this lap.
40 From Kimi Raikkonen [Censored by FOM] I can’t get close enough this Manor is on a new soft tyre.
40 From Kimi Raikkonen He got two times the blue flag and then it goes away and he doesn’t slow down, so…
42 To Romain Grosjean

So we have a small chance on catching Massa at the end. Otherwise we’ll capitalise on someone else’s problem.
42 From Romain Grosjean That doesn’t sound very optimistic.
42 From Lewis Hamilton Blue flag, havven’t seen no blue flags today. You need to give me the times of other cars, please.
42 To Lewis Hamilton

Red Bulls 45.9. The threat is from Vettel, he’s currently 44.6, coming through the field.
42 To Carlos Sainz Jnr

Scenario five.
42 From Carlos Sainz Jnr No leave me to it, please, don’t tell me, leave me alone.
42 To Carlos Sainz Jnr

Understood. You will have blue flag soon, by the way. I’ll leave you alone.
44 To Carlos Sainz Jnr

Any car damage?
44 From Carlos Sainz Jnr This Palmer is an idiot, no?
44 To Carlos Sainz Jnr

Yeah he got a front lock and bumped into your ass. Never mind, he just boxed and now he is behind.
44 From Carlos Sainz Jnr Yeah I have missed shifts. Yeah gearbox not working.
44 To Carlos Sainz Jnr

Stay out for the moment if you can, watch [unclear] coming from behind.
44 From Carlos Sainz Jnr Yeah my gearbox is not working I have to retire.
44 To Carlos Sainz Jnr

Copy.
44 From Carlos Sainz Jnr I will probably get home.
44 To Carlos Sainz Jnr

Sorry for that Carlos. By the way this fight, the result, it was a pleasure for me this year to share everything with you.
44 From Carlos Sainz Jnr Yeah it was coming a good race I think but there’s some stupid people there like Grosjean and Palmer, they just make things more complicated. But anyway good job this year. Thank you.
44 To Carlos Sainz Jnr

Thank you as well mate.
44 To Lewis Hamilton

OK Lewis really need to pick up the pace. Need high 44s. Vettel imminent threat.
46 From Nico Rosberg This is really slow pace so maybe at some point invert the cars and if by the end of the race Lewis is still second I’ll let him by again. I know that’s a really stupid request but this is really slow at the moment. He’s doing exactly… he’s quick in sector one so it’s difficult for me.
47 To Lewis Hamilton

OK Lewis this is an instruction. We need 45.1 for the win.
47 From Lewis Hamilton I suggest you guys let us race.
47 To Daniel Ricciardo

OK Daniel so let’s stick with him. He will catch Max and the two Mercedes at this rate as well so there’s still a bit of meat to be had.
48 To Max Verstappen

Try and push up to Rosberg’s DRS. Keep pushing, mate.
49 To Nico Rosberg

Seven laps remaining. Gap to Verstappen 1.5. He’s obviously backing you up.
49 From Nico Rosberg Consider doing something. I can go so much quicker.
49 To Nico Rosberg

Yeah, copy that.
50 To Max Verstappen

Within two or three tenths of DRS, Max.
51 To Lewis Hamilton

Lewis this is Paddy. We need you to pick up the pace to win this race. That is an instruction.
51 From Lewis Hamilton Paddy I am actually in the lead right now I’m quite comfortable here.
52 From Pascal Wehrlein He needs to give me the position back.
52 To Pascal Wehrlein

Tell us what happened, Pascal, we’ll look into it.
52 From Pascal Wehrlein He overtook me in the run-off area.
52 From Esteban Ocon What was that guys? [Censored by FOM] hell, he’s an idiot.
52 To Nico Rosberg

OK so four laps remaining. Remember we can afford P3, we can’t afford damage, so just be cautious with Vettel.
52 To Max Verstappen

Alright there still might be an opportunity at the end mate, stick with it.
52 From Max Verstappen Yeah I was giving it everything. We’re just not quick enough on the straight.
52 To Max Verstappen

Yeah don’t worry mate, just stick with it.
53 To Sebastian Vettel

Three laps to go. We are safe on tyres, you can push to the end. Push on the limit.
53 To Felipe Massa

OK Felipe three more laps to go. We are catching Perez, let’s try and get in his DRS for the last few laps.
54 To Lewis Hamilton

Lewis we need to target the 45s if we’re going to win this.
54 From Lewis Hamilton Right now I’m losing the world championship so I’m really not bothered if I’m going to win or lose this race.
55 To Sebastian Vettel

SOC [state of charge] one for the last lap.
55 To Nico Rosberg

So this is the last lap. Try and get within DRS of Lewis. Remember you only need P3.
VL To Nico Rosberg

Yes! World champion! [Censored by FOM] brilliant!
VL To Nico Rosberg

Nico you are world champion!
VL From Nico Rosberg Thank you so much guys. That’s a childhood dream come true. Thank you so much,
VL To Nico Rosberg

Amazing job I’m so proud of you, you’ve done amazing! Woohoo!
VL From Nico Rosberg We did it, we did it!
VL From Felipe Massa Thank you guys, thank you very much. I will never forget this car, this moment, this team, this job. Thank you really all of you guys for everything. Thank you very much.

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.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix data

    2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

    Browse all 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix articles

    Team radio transcripts

    Browse all team radio transcripts

    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

    Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

    68 comments on “2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix team radio transcript”

    1. Profile Photo

      BrawnGP (@brawngp)
      30th November 2016, 12:34

      ‘I suggest you guys let us race.’

      Someone has to put that on a t-shirt, like the Kimi ‘I know what I’m doing’ ones :-)

      1. Profile Photo

        drmouse (@drmouse)
        30th November 2016, 14:51

        My personal favourite was “Paddy I am actually in the lead right now I’m quite comfortable here.” LOL!

    2. Profile Photo

      deadchicken (@deadchicken)
      30th November 2016, 13:19

      I’m really sorry for Button’s incident.

      1. Profile Photo

        Christos (@christosts)
        30th November 2016, 18:03

        We all are :(

        1. JungleMartin
          30th November 2016, 18:35

          Except he hit that kerb hard on purpose. ;)

    3. Profile Photo

      Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
      30th November 2016, 13:29

      Did anybody understand the nicknames the Rosbergs were calling themselves with on the VL? :-)

      1. Profile Photo

        Joao (@johnmilk)
        30th November 2016, 13:45

        @stefanauss Rosberg’s wife called him monkey, the other I don’t remember

        1. Profile Photo

          GeeMac (@geemac)
          30th November 2016, 14:37

          It sounded like they both said monkey…but it wasn’t 100% clear.

        2. rico nosberg
          30th November 2016, 17:08

          it actually was “mucki”

      2. Profile Photo

        Joao (@johnmilk)
        30th November 2016, 13:50

        “grumpy” maybe?

    4. Profile Photo

      ColdFly F1 (@)
      30th November 2016, 13:37

      PR From Romain Grosjean OK going to the grid.
      PR To Romain Grosjean Good job Romain, good job!
      low expectations ;-)

      1. Profile Photo

        Joao (@johnmilk)
        30th November 2016, 13:42

        that is the best piece of radio banter from the entire season

        1. Kie
          30th November 2016, 16:30

          Agreed!

      2. Profile Photo

        Todfod (@todfod)
        1st December 2016, 6:35

        Hahahha

        That statement cracked me up. A little friendly banter between race engineer and driver.

    5. Profile Photo

      Kribana (@krichelle)
      30th November 2016, 13:37

      Ahh. Now I understand why they are considering punishing Lewis…

      “Right now I’m losing the world championship so I’m really not bothered if I’m going to win or lose this race.”

      I wonder how did the team interpret this. I understand Lewis’ reasoning.

      1. Profile Photo

        Kribana (@krichelle)
        30th November 2016, 13:44

        From a team’s perspective: Lewis doesn’t care about the policies and rules at Mercedes.
        From a general perspective: We got the constructors championship wrapped up, and there is a huge battle for the drivers’ championship, so why try to play the team game? What does Lewis have to lose? I am sure even some of us real f1 fans were thinking that the team were favorising Nico when the messages came up..

        The way I understood this is that regardless of the situation, Mercedes will still want the win, ignoring the drivers championship. Plus, if Vettel gets past Nico, he would still have to overtake Lewis on track, and with how Lewis was pacing, he would have just gone 1-2 secs quicker or even probably more. Surely… Mercedes almost exposed themselves with this one regarding their rules…

        1. JuJu
          30th November 2016, 14:33

          If you want to understand Mercedes radio instruction, imagine Vettel winning the race because Lewis was driving slow… that would be a disaster. I can understand Mercedes after all.

          1. Tayyib
            30th November 2016, 18:23

            I get Mercedes’ reaction but surely they knew Hamilton was gonna play his only card. Is it not a bit naive from Mercedes. Having said that I get why they wanted to win, once you start winning all of the time all you ever wanna do is keep winning.

          2. JungleMartin
            30th November 2016, 18:48

            Even if the win wasn’t at risk, isn’t it completely normal for Mercedes to want a 1-2 rather than a first place and a fourth place (or worse) which is what Hamilton was trying to achieve?

            Not to mention the PR embarrassment of a Mercedes driver winning the WDC through causing another Mercedes driver to finish further down the order than otherwise he would have done.

            1. Profile Photo

              mystic one (@mysticus)
              1st December 2016, 1:20

              “Even if the win wasn’t at risk” it wasnt completely normal… Requests kept coming after Ros complained of Ham driving slow… Was it needed a team reaction? really? every analyst said that was the only way he could have a chance to win this championship game… By keep Ros safe, they just did favoritism towards Ros… Actually they have shown this face 3 times i think now!

              Hamilton wanted alternative strategy in a race previously, he was denied… He asked for help from team in one race regarding the settings that was changed without informing him, he was denied (in same situation, Ros was given top help to save him from DNF), and now again at Ros’s request, team ordering Ham to play by rules… When Ham asks for help, it is not the same rules unfortunately… A matter of fact he never asked team to speed up Ros, as far as I remember, bar monaco-as nothing broadcast at all almost, as Ros was just a road hazard to all eitherway, and he is already dangerous when it comes to letting people pass him… If Ham catches Ros, he doesnt complain about Ros being too slow, he just goes for the shot!

            2. Profile Photo

              Solo (@solo)
              16th April 2018, 22:49

              I don’t think a second place can be argued to be more important than a drivers championship even if they want 1-2.
              Besides they already have the WCC on their hands, is not like they need further results for the year so why put themselves above the driver when they already got what they wanted?

        2. Profile Photo

          Stan (@blakk76)
          30th November 2016, 20:14

          no matter how Mercs are defending their policies, it`s just unfair, trying to safe wrap Nico`s final race as much as possible, why not giving chance to Lewis? Anyway one of their drivers is a champion, who cares whcih…or not?
          actually even double retiring would be nice for a Mercedes, because of lower entry fee for 2017….

          1. bobec
            1st December 2016, 1:35

            How do you “give a chance” to Lewis? Maybe his championship was already lost. But a true champion will still race, which Lewis refused to do. He just doesn’t know how to lose.

            1. DeVante
              1st December 2016, 9:57

              It depends what is “race” for you. Actually, Lewis was racing, which Mercedes didn’t like.

    6. Martin
      30th November 2016, 13:38

      51 To Lewis Hamilton Lewis this is Paddy. We need you to pick up the pace to win this race. That is an instruction.
      51 From Lewis Hamilton Paddy I am actually in the lead right now I’m quite comfortable here.

      Can’t believe Paddy thought Lewis was actually going to lose the race. Thought he was supposed to be smart.

      1. Profile Photo

        Stan (@blakk76)
        30th November 2016, 20:15

        he wanted to make sure no one is threating poor little Nico…

      2. bobec
        1st December 2016, 1:35

        Yeah, Paddy is actually very dumb. Riiiiiight……

        1. Profile Photo

          Alonso (@alonshow)
          1st December 2016, 8:58

          He didn’t, of course. The “to win this race” part was just PR. He knew, like everybody, that the win was not under threat. But openly asking Lewis to give up his championship fight wouldn’t have worked very well for Mercedes’ public image.

    7. Profile Photo

      Oli (@dh1996)
      30th November 2016, 13:42

      “Right now I’m losing the world championship so I’m really not bothered if I’m going to win or lose this race.”

      Yeah, well maybe the team still wanted to win that race, Lewis.

      1. Profile Photo

        Woody (@woodyd91)
        30th November 2016, 14:49

        @dh1996 Did they really care about that though? Enough to get on to a driver and tell him to speed up, knowing it will effectively end his championship hopes?

        Very doubtful, Both championships have been won, history books are written, the financial rewards have already been secured, the team crew bonuses are in the bag. Do they really care that much about one more win? or away from the PR do they simply not want any other cars near either Nico or Hamilton to affect the championship…I’m betting on the latter.

        The problem is if a team wants it’s 2 drivers to race but for it to be just them 2 racing then they are effectively saying you can race but the championship is already over. Everybody including the team knew that for Hamilton to win others would need to get involved, but as soon as they do the team then order Hamilton to speed up to stop that happening? That’s not allowing them to race. That’s engineering a victory and at the end a championship result. So if they knew that’s how they were going to operate why didn’t they just come out and say, bar a mistake by either driver or a car failure the championship is over? Why bother with this pretense that they are allowed to race.

        In 2014 it was all about Nico needing to back Hamilton up into the pack, the start meant that wasn’t an option for Nico but had it of been you would need to be an extreme Nico fan or a extreme Hamilton distracter to think that Nico would simple sail off into the sunset and not try and bring other drivers into play. How anybody at Mercedes didn’t see this coming after the final stops I have no idea. Toto, Paddy & Nikki couldn’t of been that silly to think otherwise.

        If Mercedes truly believed in letting both drivers race and fight for the title, once championships are locked up they should have stayed off the radio and let the race unfold. I’m a Hamilton fan, but had it of been the reverse and they had told Nico to speed up I would have the same view. To me in that case it would of been up to Hamilton to get passed by racing and securing the championship no matter what teammate did. Which is what Rosberg should have done, this is after all racing.

        This is, of course all academic, we will never really know why Merc put those instructions to Hamilton whether it really was because they wanted 1 more race win so badly that thought it justified stopping the race for the championship or it was because they simply didn’t want any other cars by theirs which in the end has the same result, every fan will have their own opinion. Many I’m guessing as well would be the opposite if the drivers roles were reversed. Hamilton fans bashing Rosberg for backing him up and Rosberg fans cheering Nico’s “intelligent driving”.

        1. Profile Photo

          MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
          30th November 2016, 15:17

          @woodyd91 You know merc Is more than ham Nico Niki Toto and Paddy? Theres hundreds of People Working Really hard for the whole season and this Is also their season Finale. And You know What? I Think they Care about the Race win. They Care about the one-two.It Is Their Reward. I guess there might even be quite some folks there who absolutely don’t care if it’s the spoilt blondie or the selfobsessed crybaby that wins It in the end.

          1. Profile Photo

            Woody (@woodyd91)
            30th November 2016, 16:33

            @mrboerns Those “hundreds”, which is actually a couple of thousand of people don’t make the calls to the drivers performance and give them instructions though do they, in fact only a very small amount of those people will give advice on performance during race and even smaller amount of those people actually have the ability to make calls on what the driver needs to do. So yes of course i know the team is bigger than the people in front of the cameras, not that knowing this changes anything I’ve said above.

            1. Profile Photo

              MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
              30th November 2016, 17:37

              Yes they don’t make the calls the point is the people on the Pitwall Think about those People. Who of the Two Clowns wins the Championship Simply isn’t everything.

            2. Profile Photo

              mystic one (@mysticus)
              1st December 2016, 1:31

              @mrboerns those two clowns already complemented/completed what the team sailed out to achieve! Also those back at the factory had a lot to cause the drama in the final race… so appreciate them for fighting their ass off, it is not a run in the park! Their only duty isnt for the team alone, there is pride and sponsors also involved in their career! It is easy for monkeys to talk about clowns from the sofa/chair/horse/sticks you are sitting on…

          2. Wooolfy
            30th November 2016, 17:34

            You got that wrong, having read the radio messages it was obvious the only result Mercedes was after is for Nico to win the WDC. They did not care for the win, it was only to keep Lewis away from Nico, otherwise they would have instructed Nico to overtake the slower LH or ask LH to allow the faster Nico pass. The 1,2 they weren’t after either as they would have us believe because they told Nico not to fight Seb and that 3rd is good. I’m very disappointed with them not allowing their drivers to race as the promised all year and pre race, and now it’s obvious that the only result they wanted was a Nico WDC which they got. This deprived LH of any chance of defending his title and shows the favouritism in the inner workings. Can’t wait for Lewis book in 10 years!

            1. Profile Photo

              MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
              30th November 2016, 17:43

              How can you at the same time be so cunning as to see through the lies of team radio and see the true meaning of what merc says and at the same time be so naive as to believe a call like “Pass x” or “Let y past” would have changed anything at all? i mean jeez!
              Things were starting to get messy, losing the win was on the cards, loosing a safe one-two was on the cards, the two clwons colliding messing up both their results was definately an option. And you know what? It would have sucked for hundreds of people within the team. Because they want to celebrate their final race of the season to the fullest after hard work and being the best for three years running. not pout over a freaking wreck two laps from home. It really IS that simple.

            2. Profile Photo

              mystic one (@mysticus)
              1st December 2016, 1:46

              “How can you at the same time be so cunning as to see through the lies of team radio”

              Ok, you come forward and point one truth in those radio messages that states “lewis, think about everyone back at the factory please?”

              i tell you a few…

              – So don’t take any risks with Verstappen. You’re doing the right thing.
              – How is my race looking?
              – P2 is safe at the moment.
              – That’s good to know.
              – Pace is very slow again. Not great for a late Safety Car.
              – OK so four laps remaining. Remember we can afford P3, we can’t afford damage, so just be cautious with Vettel.

              So Ros has no intention to overtake or race Ham…

              > Lewis this is Paddy. We need you to pick up the pace to win this race. That is an instruction.
              > Paddy I am actually in the lead right now I’m quite comfortable here.

              I am sorry, but which race? whose race? Ham is already leading! Manufacturer Championship has been won ages ago… So only ever thing the team wanted was ROS to get the championship safely, and not work for it… Just Ham to hand it over in a golden case…

              You think they were so emotional about the team back at the factory? You already know very well you just hate Ham so bad, as you cant hide it by playing safety cards and emotional talk…

        2. bobec
          1st December 2016, 1:37

          Again, it was Hamilton who refused to race. And he gets paid to race. If he was going to sandbag, why did he reiterate he wasn’t going to do this, just days before the race?

          1. Kwaw
            2nd December 2016, 12:33

            Hamilton refused to race ?

            Please read the radio transcripts again, Rosberg asked the team to do something, including, instructing Lewis to by let him by and he would give up the lead later to Lewis. Before he asked, surely he could have attempted to pass Lewis, but didn’t make an effort at all. However if there was a collision between the two Mercedes Nico would have still won the WDC, so I think Lewis would have avoided a collision at all costs, so Nico had nothing to Lewis attempting a pass on Lewis.

            Lewis took a calculated risk by backing up the drivers behind but this appeared to be the only option he had to win the WDC, bar Nico having a failure or collision with someone else. However that calculated risk meant that Lewis may have had to and was prepared to race with those behind him, including Nico and possibly Vettel. In fact he was racing, by ensuring that Nico was kept close but not close enough under the DRS. Furthermore Nico could have avoided this had he done better in qualifying, but on the day things didn’t go his way.

            From this I would argue that Nico was the one who refused to race, which was a sensible option for him, but surely if racing is what he needed to win the WDC that is what he should have been prepared to do.

            The transcript and Nico’s Pleas suggests that Mercedes had already ordained Nico the win and Nico was under that impression too.

      2. Profile Photo

        Deej92 (@deej92)
        30th November 2016, 15:42

        Let’s be realistic, did anyone ever really think Hamilton wasn’t going to win this race? Even the team must have been confident he’d win even with Vettel coming back. He would’ve just sailed away if Vettel had got past Rosberg, and Vettel’s tyres weren’t at their best at that point anyway.

        I doubt the team cares that much about the 1-2 considering they have achieved everything the last three years. 2nd or 3rd for Rosberg wouldn’t have mattered. I think, as Woody says, it was more trying to save face and not have another team having any kind of say in the title battle (see Toto Wolff calling Jose Verstappen). The race win was never in doubt.

        1. Profile Photo

          Deej92 (@deej92)
          30th November 2016, 15:55

          Jos*

      3. Lee1
        30th November 2016, 15:45

        Well if they really wanted to win then they should have told Nico to risk everything and try to go for the win!

      4. Profile Photo

        Solo (@solo)
        16th April 2018, 22:57

        Sorry but i don’t believe even for a minute that they actually believed the race win was in danger. they knew very well that the only thing in danger was Rosberg’s position.
        If me, a couch watcher knew very well just by watching that Hamilton could speed up whenever he wanted and that Vettel’s tires were already starting to lose their initial performance just by the time he was out and how he was pushing then surely they must have known too.
        Unless they actually thought that Rosberg was gonna cause an incident with Hamilton to take the both out if he found things too difficult to handle.

        This “we wanted the win” speech is nothing but PR because they know it will sound bad if they said we wanted to ensure second position too. And if they know it will sound bad then maybe they should reflect on their ways and why are they in a position that they have to lie as to an appear bad.

    8. Profile Photo

      Joao (@johnmilk)
      30th November 2016, 13:44

      What happened between Sainz and Grosjean? I don’t remember

      Shame the tv broadcast only shows some drivers insulting the others. Sainz calls stupid to two other drivers and no-one seems to care (I do understand however the reason behind insulting Palmer)

      1. Profile Photo

        Gabriel (@naylamp)
        30th November 2016, 14:03

        Every driver gets diva every once in a while. But they only show RAI, VET, ROS insulting others giving us a wrong impression about them.

        1. Bultaco85
          30th November 2016, 21:36

          You are so right!

    9. Profile Photo

      Joao (@johnmilk)
      30th November 2016, 13:56

      Ferrari should invest in some strategists. Vettel can have a better picture of the situation inside the cockpit, how is that even possible.

      1. Profile Photo

        MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
        30th November 2016, 15:08

        I’m fairly certain their strategist was having a wee Early on. So they just mirrored merc. But once he returned It was Business as usual apparently.

        1. Kie
          30th November 2016, 16:32

          Haha… and business as usual is bad?

      2. Jdoleofabre
        30th November 2016, 21:14

        Yeah right!! Its funny how the best strategist Ferrari has is also driving the car! Talk about multitasking lol

        1. Profile Photo

          MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
          30th November 2016, 21:44

          To be fair though, being best strategist in Ferrari isn’t really hard to do.

        2. Profile Photo

          Joao (@johnmilk)
          1st December 2016, 9:50

          It was clearly an exaggerations to prove my point. Don’t take things too litteraly on the internet

      3. kanan
        1st December 2016, 16:57

        After the first part of the season with some woeful strategies costing him race wins, I think Vettel started to take a more active role in determining the strategy as well. I clearly remember him making suggestions in Baku and Mexico too. And in both cases he turned out to be right and gained some considerable advantage over teammate who’s been doing the standard Ferrari strategy.

    10. Profile Photo

      joe jopling (@jop452)
      30th November 2016, 17:02

      Paddy came out of that really well……Not!!
      Next year if the car loses that advantage to whoever…they will need Lewis for the battles to win…..
      No way will they discipline Lewis…….Paddy may move on of course(as rumoured)

      1. Profile Photo

        DonSmee (@david-beau)
        2nd December 2016, 0:38

        Despite what it may seem Paddy is actually a big Hamilton fan from McLaren days. Probably the only hamilton supporter in merc top management. What happens is that he is a mouthpeice for top brass during the races. It is his job to give the final instructions to both drivers. And most of the time those messages are really coming from Toto.
        The whole puppeteering stuff is one of the reasons Paddy may leave too.

    11. Profile Photo

      Gigantor (@kbdavies)
      30th November 2016, 17:46

      “I suggest you guys let us race” – This really is the radio comment of the year.

      However, 3 things stand out – (1) If Mercedes really thought Vettel was a threat for a win, they need to employ different people on the strategy side of things. (2) If they really thought the fans believe that because they say so, then they do not have much respect for their fan, and think most of them are stupid. (3) And if anyone believed Mercedes on that issue, they need a frontal lobotomy!

      1. Drg
        30th November 2016, 20:04

        + a few billion.

        On top of everything I have seen so far which is mostly vile awful bile suggesting that a large portion of the fan base need some help.

        If NR, the thinking driver is so bright and terrified to overtake anyone (cos LH is so known to take you out?) then why did he not let Vettel through to pressure LH and thus speed up the race?

        No this was someone expecting as always ‘an entitlement’ and not having the clarity of thought to figure it out when someone simply won’t play ball.

        The radio message about swapping places lost more respect by anyone who has ever undertaken races regardless of who you support more than anything ever.

        Fair dos he soaked it up and won but anyone not realising he needed a ton of luck and reliability issues to do so is dreaming. Nothing wrong with that but those thinking NR somehow had a great racing year need to check out any race after the gifted four and realise that he really was lucky. Really lucky and had Mercedes on his side.

      2. bobec
        1st December 2016, 1:40

        http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/opinion-hamilton-s-defiance-has-given-mercedes-a-2017-headache-855425/?s=1

      3. hyoko
        1st December 2016, 21:39

        “I suggest you guys let us race” – This really is the radio comment of the year.

        Only in case you call that racing

    12. Spitzer
      1st December 2016, 0:45

      A lot of people have been saying that it was Lewis job to go for the title so backing up his teammate is all within the rules, well, it was Nico’s job to go for the title too and use every trick in the book be it phoning in and asking the boss to tell the guy backing you up to speed up and for those who seem astounded that Nico would do such a thing, we hear it all the time, the Redbulls do it, Ferrari do it too and it isn’t illegal.

      1. Profile Photo

        Solo (@solo)
        16th April 2018, 23:07

        People were mostly criticizing the teams radio messages not Rosberg’s to the team.

    13. Profile Photo

      GB (@f1git)
      1st December 2016, 9:54

      Can someone explain this to me please?:

      26 From Nico Rosberg Losing time out of turn ten because of the over-loads.
      26 To Nico Rosberg OK but that’s safety-critical at the moment.

      1. Profile Photo

        Joao (@johnmilk)
        1st December 2016, 15:41

        @f1git it must be some sort of engine mapping that reduces power output. or a different recovery energy setting

        I am assuming this because turn 10 is a flat-out turn in abu dabhi

        “safety-critical” – probably playing it safe for due to reliability

        This is just my assumption, it might be far from what really means

    14. Gerry
      1st December 2016, 12:07

      Of course they wanted Nico to win the WDC, they didn’t even bother to congratulate Lewis on the victory lap, only Nico was the hero! Bad news Toto, Niki and Paddy!

    15. NK
      1st December 2016, 15:12

      You people are making so much fuss of the situation. As by now you must have known NR, he was much better positioned then LH for WDC and can win it with even the 3rd position (some one only half sensible and cool headed would not try to get into tangle with anyone jeopardizing his chances). Its not just the final race, NR in every other race played it safe reaping the benefits. If team thinks that its NR time to win I don’t see a problem with it as he worked hard through out the year, LH at many occasions played the part of a bully ignoring team benefit and pushing off his team mate on few times. I suggest he should go back to Mclaren to show his true colors.

    16. NK
      1st December 2016, 16:53

      Further to my above message, I would remind this to LH fans this is motor sports and their is always a risk, a reliability issue. Remember 2014 when going to the final race NR was 17 points behind and 50 points was on the table but he faced an issue with the accelerator, in Toto’s own word a spring with a value of may be 1 dollar was the culprit, no one bate an eye and accepted it as it is including NR. Then why so much fuss now. Ricardo ones describe his failure saying you need everything to be perfect to perform, in Vettal words “you stars need to be aligned”.

      One need some luck, some consistency, some humbleness along with the talent and it was perfectly aligned for NR, we may see more improved NR next year even harder to beat. It was his year and we should accept that. STAY TUNED for sparks to fly in 2017.

      1. Kwaw
        2nd December 2016, 14:04

        Of course reliability is an issue, but in 2014 Nico was not winning the race nor leading the championship, he was in with a shout only because of the double points which was revoked the next season. So even without the engine failure Nico unlikely to win the WDC.
        Also in 2014 whilst Nico had one more DNF – Lewis suffered slightly more failures that cost him points.

    17. Blackstar
      4th March 2017, 5:08

      Now we know why Mercs got involved, they already knew that Nico would go into retirement wining the wdc, because he’d had enough, Lewis literally done his head in, also Mercedes had enough of managing two #1 drivers. So I imagine a deal was struck when Nico signed his contract, and Mercs done their part in orchestrating the final races of the season.

    Comments are closed.