The top team radio highlights of 2016

Team radio messages again provided some of the most dramatic moments of the season in 2016.

From Sebastian Vettel’s Mexican Grand Prix meltdown to the tense atmosphere at Mercedes during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix title-decider, the radio traffic gave rare insight into the drivers’ real emotions.

During the first half of the year we didn’t get to hear much from them as Formula One Management drastically reduced the amount of radio material being broadcast compared to previous season. That changed heading into the summer break, in a move which coincided with some of the controversial restrictions on radio messages being relaxed.

Here are some of the most memorable moments from this year’s races on the team radios:

Australian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton wasn’t the first driver in 2016 to be frustrated by Max Verstappen:

Lap*	Driver	Message
10	From Lewis Hamilton	I can’t get past this guy.
10	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis you can just take it easy and we’ll extend the stint.
13	From Lewis Hamilton	There’s go to be another strategy, guys, I can’t be stuck behind this guy for ages.
13	To Lewis Hamilton	Yeah copy that Lewis we’ll try and go long on this stint.

But Verstappen had other problems later in the race:

Lap*	Driver	Message
32	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	Sainz, who was running behind Verstappen, pitted before him which helped him get in front of his team mate. Guys we need to stop, stop.
34	From Max Verstappen	This message indicates some earlier messages were not broadcast. How many times do I have to say I’ve got problems with my tyres? I wanted to pit first. [Censored by FOM]
38	From Max Verstappen	Can I try to get past?
38	To Max Verstappen	Yes.
39	From Max Verstappen	Let me try because this takes too long.
39	To Max Verstappen	Let’s do it.
39	From Max Verstappen	Verstappen was stuck behind Sainz who had Palmer in front of him. Come on, we have to do something.
40	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	OK Carlos, push.
40	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	I am pushing, don’t tell me to push.
40	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	Yes otherwise we will swap next lap.
47	To Max Verstappen	Sainz overtook Palmer, as did Verstappen. Always when I’m in front I’m pulling away, now you don’t let me past, it’s a [censored by FOM] joke, really.
VL	From Max Verstappen	Unbelievable.
VL	To Max Verstappen	Yes. Not very good but…
VL	From Max Verstappen	I don’t understand why I was not the first one in the garage for another pit stop. It’s unbelievable. I really don’t understand. It’s a [censored by FOM] joke. Seriously.
VL	To Max Verstappen	We discuss later.

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There was jubilation for Haas after a great performance by Romain Grosjean:

Lap*	Driver	Message
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	Haas is sixth.
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	Impressive. Good on them. And fastest lap? I guess I got it?
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	I can confirm you did get the fastest lap of the race.
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	Well that’s worth a drink.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Chequered flag Romain, absolutely amazing dude!
VL	From Romain Grosjean	Guys, listen to me. This is a win for us. Unbelievable for everyone. I don’t even know where we finished! Unbelievable.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Amazing, dude. You finished P6. Thanks for an amazing debut for Haas F1 team.
VL	From Romain Grosjean	Oh my goodness! Welcome to Formula One, Gene! This is the day. This is history, guys.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Thank you brilliant mate, absolutely amazing job.
VL	From Romain Grosjean	Yeah fantastic for everyone. I don’t know how you did that job in such a little time. Well done everyone.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Well done Romain, happy days. You’re the man.

Bahrain Grand Prix

Manor found themselves consistently at the top of the speed traps thanks to their new Mercedes power units:

Lap*	Driver	Message
25	From Kevin Magnussen	There’s no way I’m going to get past him, He’s like a rocket on the straights.
25	To Kevin Magnussen	Okay understood, the Manor is like a rocket on the straights, understood.

The good times continued to roll at Haas but not all of Grosjean’s radio messages would be this positive later in the year:

Lap*	Driver	Message
VL	To Romain Grosjean	P5 Romain, P5. Amazing job!
VL	From Romain Grosjean	Unbelieavable guys! This is the American dream. This is unbelievable. What a great job from all of you. Some places we can improve but what a job guys! I love you. Beautiful.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Amazing drive, Romain, amazing. American dream, you said it. Think you got enough passes in there. Brilliant job all race, amazing.
VL	From Romain Grosjean	Yeah I love that car, I love that car.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Romain, your overtaking was fantastic, thank you very much, we enjoyed that.
VL	From Romain Grosjean	Yeah well I’ve got brakes this year , that helps!
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Nice one.

Chinese Grand Prix

With Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne watching in the pits, Sebastian Vettel needed a good explanation for why he’d just crashed into his team mate:

Lap*	Driver	Message
1	From Sebastian Vettel	Okay I made contact I had no chance I had the Red Bull coming up the inside like a madman and I hit Kimi, I think my nose is damaged.
6	From Sebastian Vettel	Just to copy you again, Kvyat attack was suicidal, there was always going to be a crash. No way with the speed he had he could have done the corner.
14	To Sebastian Vettel	Good stuff Sebastian good stuff. Push hard.

Grosjean’s problems began at Haas:

Lap*	Driver	Message
54	From Romain Grosjean	That’s what I wanted to ask, if you want to retire, there is a problem with the car, it is undrivable today.
54	To Romain Grosjean	Understood but we do not want to retire the car, hang in there.

But after his third consecutive win Nico Rosberg was riding high:

Lap*	Driver	Message
VL	To Nico Rosberg	Well done excellent drive absolutely dominant. Brilliant.
VL	From Nico Rosberg	Wow thanks a lot everybody, that was the most incredible balance I probably ever had in a race, that car. Really spectacular.

And after a fine podium finish things were looking up for Daniil Kvyat:

Lap*	Driver	Message
VL	To Daniil Kvyat	OK well done Dany, P3 mate, well done.
VL	From Daniil Kvyat	Thank you. Thanks guys, excellent, excellent day. Thanks for my second podium, you’ve been fantastic.
VL	To Daniil Kvyat	Great job Dany, second podium of your career, that’s a brilliant drive.

Russian Grand Prix

Vettel did not conceal his disappointment at being rammed out of the race by Kvyat:

Lap*	Driver	Message
1	From Sebastian Vettel	Oh for [censored by FOM] sake man! Who the [censored by FOM]? Oh I’m out! Crash! Somebody hit me in the [censored by FOM] rear, T2, Somebody hit me in the [censored by FOM] rear again T3, for [censored by FOM] sake, honestly. What the [censored by FOM] are we doing here?

A power unit fault hampered Hamilton in qualifying and more problems hit both Mercedes’ drivers during the race:

Lap*	Driver	Message
32	From Lewis Hamilton	You there Bono?
33	To Lewis Hamilton	Affirm Lewis, we’ve got a bit on at the moment mate. so Lewis it looks lke we’ve got a water pressure issue, water pressure issue.
39	To Lewis Hamilton	Lewis the situation has stabilised.

Spanish Grand Prix

The blue flag guidelines were toughened up later in the year as the front runners complained slower cars were holding them up:

Lap*	Driver	Message
38	To Jolyon Palmer	OK Jo we have solid blue for Ricciardo behind, he is the race leader, two seconds behind.
38	From Jolyon Palmer	I can barely see him in the mirrors.
38	To Jolyon Palmer	I know, you’re doing same lap time as him.

Vettel didn’t appreciate Daniel Ricciardo’s attempt to overtake him:

Lap*	Driver	Message
59	From Sebastian Vettel	[Censored by FOM] if I don’t avoid that. He’s just going straight to my car. Honestly, what are we doing? Racing or ping-pong?

In his first race for Red Bull, Max Verstappen scored a stunning victory:

Lap*	Driver	Message
VL	From Max Verstappen	Yes! Yes!
VL	To Max Verstappen	Unbelievable, Max. Unbelievable.
VL	To Max Verstappen	Max Verstappen you are a race winner. Fantastic. What a great debut. Great job.
VL	From Max Verstappen	Thank you very much, Christian.
VL	To Max Verstappen	Max you nursed that tyre set home brilliantly, mate. Well done.
VL	From Max Verstappen	It was like driving on ice the last ten laps. Unbelievable.

Monaco Grand Prix

Felipe Nasr did not agree with Sauber’s call for him to let Marcus Ericsson by. His frustrated team mate then tried to pass at Rascasse, with inevitable consequences:

Lap*	Driver	Message
49	To Felipe Nasr	Just swap position, Felipe, just swap position.
50	To Felipe Nasr	Felipe, if Marcus will not pull away you will gain a position.
50	From Felipe Nasr	For what reason, give me a reason.
50	From Felipe Nasr	Why, why him, why? Give me a reason why.
51	To Felipe Nasr	He is much quicker at the minute, if he does not pull away you will gain the position.
51	To Felipe Nasr	OK Felipe, this is from the top, we need to swap positions now please. Let’s do it, let’s get it done, turn one.
51	From Marcus Ericsson	I guess there is something wrong with his radio.
52	To Marcus Ericsson	Sounds like, sound like.
52	From Felipe Nasr	Why Marcus did that, why?

A frustrated Ricciardo saw victory slip away due to a fumbled Red Bull pit stop:

Lap*	Driver	Message
37	From Daniel Ricciardo	What the [censored by FOM] was that?
39	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK mate, let’s get your head together, you are quicker than him, let’s do it.
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	Save it. Nothing you could say can make that any better. Just save it.

Canadian Grand Prix

The unflappable Kimi Raikkonen gave his race engineer a dose of reality:

Lap*	Driver	Message
21	To Kimi Raikkonen	Take it easy Kimi, take it easy.
21	From Kimi Raikkonen	I cannot take it easy and keep them behind at the same time.

Meanwhile his team mate was getting increasingly agitated after losing the lead due to a questionable strategy call:

Lap*	Driver	Message
21	From Sebastian Vettel	Get this traffic out of the way!
35	From Sebastian Vettel	Mamma mia, what the hell is going on?
59	From Sebastian Vettel	What the [censored by FOM] is this Manor doing?

European Grand Prix

New regulations which prevented engineers from assisting the drivers became a hot topic when Lewis Hamilton spent a significant portion of the race stuck in the wrong engine setting:

Lap*	Driver	Message
27	From Lewis Hamilton	Derates everywhere. I’m sure that’s not helping. Is there no solution for this?
27	To Lewis Hamilton	We are working on it, Lewis.
27	From Lewis Hamilton	You guys need to pick up the pace.
31	From Lewis Hamilton	Can I not reset this thing?
31	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis so the problem appears to be with the current mode you’re in.
31	From Lewis Hamilton	Ah, I don’t know what you mean but I don’t know what’s wrong.
32	To Lewis Hamilton	Copy that Lewis, hard to say what it is.
34	From Lewis Hamilton	This is ridiculous guys, I don’t know, looking at my fricking dash every five seconds trying to find a switch that’s in the wrong position. I haven’t changed anything or done something wrong as far as I’m aware.
34	To Lewis Hamilton	Yeah Lewis it’s nothing that you’re doing wrong, just got a setting that’s icorrect.
34	From Lewis Hamilton	Is it HPB?
34	To Lewis Hamilton	I’m afraid I can’t say, Lewis.
35	From Lewis Hamilton	I may not finish this race because I’m going to try to change everything.
35	To Lewis Hamilton	Don’t advise that, Lewis.
35	From Lewis Hamilton	Can I make a suggestion and you say if it’s OK or not?
36	To Lewis Hamilton	No that’s not allowed. Let’s just get our head down and focus on the job.
44	From Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis you’re the fastest car on the track.
44	To Lewis Hamilton	No [censored by FOM] man, I’ve got my power back.

Meanwhile Raikkonen was experiencing a similar problem:

Lap*	Driver	Message
46	From Kimi Raikkonen	If the handle is normal, it is the same like last race, let’s say?
46	To Kimi Raikkonen	I can’t answer Kimi, I can’t answer, I’m sorry.
46	From Kimi Raikkonen	For sure you can say yes or no.
46	To Kimi Raikkonen	I can’t Kimi, I can’t.

Austrian Grand Prix

More angst at Mercedes as their drivers collided on the final lap:

Lap*	Driver	Message
VL	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis well done mate not the race we were after but good result.
VL	From Lewis Hamilton	I was on the outside. It wasn’t me that crashed.

British Grand Prix

With a lot of standing water at the start of the race drivers faced the tricky decision about which tyre to switch to after the Safety Car came in:

Lap*	Driver	Message
5	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK Daniel Safety Car is in this lap, what do you think about tyres at the moment. Inters or [full wets]?
5	From Daniel Ricciardo	If we can survive the aquaplaning I think the inters.

Sure enough the conditions quickly caught some of them out:

Lap*	Driver	Message
7	From Pascal Wehrlein	Yeah I’m out. Aquaplaning first corner, No chance.

Rosberg was the first driver to fall foul of the team radio restrictions and receive a penalty. Mercedes only discovered he was under investigation when they heard Red Bull discussing it on their radio:

Lap*	Driver	Message
47	From Nico Rosberg	Gearbox problem!
47	To Nico Rosberg	Driver default 101, chassis default 01. Chassis default 01.
47	To Nico Rosberg	Avoid seventh gear, Nico.
47	From Nico Rosberg	What‘s that mean? I have to shift through it.
47	To Nico Rosberg	Affirm Nico you need to shift through it, affirm.
47	To Nico Rosberg	So Nico if it gets stuck again it will downshift out of seventh.
47	From Nico Rosberg	What do I do if it gets stuck again?
47	To Nico Rosberg	So Nico just try and avoid seventh. If it happens downshift out of it. You’re doing a really good job.
47	From Nico Rosberg	I tried to downshift out of it last time but it didn‘t work
47	To Nico Rosberg	OK copy copy.
49	To Max Verstappen	OK Max Rosberg is under investigation for some of the comments made over the radio.

Hungarian Grand Prix

Verstappen couldn’t resist pointing out how easily he was keeping up with his team mate:

Lap*	Driver	Message
8	To Max Verstappen	You are still within DRS of Ricciardo.
8	From Max Verstappen	I’m driving like a grandma.

Jenson Button followed Rosberg in receiving a penalty for receiving assistance on the radio, but this latest controversy proved the final nail in the coffin for this contentious rule:

Lap*	Driver	Message
14	From Jenson Button	So the brake pedal going to the floor isn’t classed as a safety issue. That’s quite interesting. Think someone needs to read up on what is safe and what isn’t.

Not for the first or last time, Mercedes became concerned Hamilton was compromising Rosberg’s race:

Lap*	Driver	Message
33	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis so Ricciardo’s about to get onto the back of the train so we really need to open this gap up.
33	From Lewis Hamilton	Well I’m driving to the best of my ability on these tyres.
33	To Lewis Hamilton	OK copy that Lewis. If these cars bunch up then we’ll be bringing Nico in first.
33	From Lewis Hamilton	Well why would they do that? It’s not like I’m driving slow, I’m trying.
33	To Lewis Hamilton	Yeah Lewis just the risk is we’re putting the win in jeopardy.

Behind the leaders Raikkonen saw red as he tried to pass Verstappen:

Lap*	Driver	Message
58	From Kimi Raikkonen	He moved right and then back to left when I was going there. I took my [censored by FOM] front wing off.
58	To Kimi Raikkonen	Copy, copy, keep pushing on the way in.
61	From Max Verstappen	Kimi is going out of the track limits.
70	From Kimi Raikkonen	He’s not stopping moving then we will hit each other.
70	To Kimi Raikkonen	Understood.
70	From Kimi Raikkonen	Because I move first so [censored by FOM] don’t move after that. I have nothing that I could do once I decided that I go inside and he turns after that in front of me.

German Grand Prix

From the British Grand Prix teams were able to listen in to all of their rivals’ messages in real-time, including everything not broadcast on television by FOM. At times they passed on what they heard to their drivers:

Lap*	Driver	Message
3	To Max Verstappen	OK Max solid couple of laps. Hamilton has also been instructed about looking after his tyres so we’ll do the same mate at this stage

Rosberg was the latest driver to come off second-best in a scrap with Verstappen, though only after the stewards intervened:

Lap*	Driver	Message
30	From Max Verstappen	He pushed me off the track.
35	To Nico Rosberg	So Nico important you keep pushing. You’ve got a five-second penalty that we need to take at the next pit stop.
35	From Nico Rosberg	Can you explain to them that I was full lock on the steering wheel and I couldn’t steer more. And he moved in braking, that was the big problem. That’s completely not allowed.

One particular driver distinguished himself by being a problem for the front runners:

Lap*	Driver	Message
55	From Daniel Ricciardo	Esteban [Gutierrez] is my favourite, I love this guy.
55	To Daniel Ricciardo	OK Daniel you can rest assured he’s doing the same to everyone, he’s not just picking on you.

Belgian Grand Prix

Raikkonen and Verstappen resumed their battle from the Hungaroring and the Ferrari driver’s wrath proved too much for FOM’s censor:

Lap*	Driver	Message
13	From Kimi Raikkonen	Do I have to let the Red Bull past? Because it’s clear his only interest is pushing me off the circuit completely. If I wouldn’t go straight he’s just hitting me.
13	From Kimi Raikkonen	Hey come on this is [censored by FOM] ridiculous now, he’s just fucking turning when I’m going full speed on the right.
13	To Kimi Raikkonen	Copy, copy, ridiculous.

Despite the encouragement, Valtteri Bottas wasn’t able to get past Alonso:

Lap*	Driver	Message
42	To Valtteri Bottas	We can get him, he’s going to be a sitting duck, so let’s hunt Alonso down.

Italian Grand Prix

Alonso’s race was ruined by an unusual problem at his pit stop:

Lap*	Driver	Message
18	From Fernando Alonso	Yeah the traffic light didn’t work, man. The [censored by FOM] traffic light. [Censored by FOM] hell.

Even Ricciardo’s engineer marvelled at his spectacular, long-range pass on Bottas:

Lap*	Driver	Message
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	I know you like coming from a long way back but that might be a new record.
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	That was good fun. Cheers guys.

Singapore Grand Prix

Raikkonen sprang a surprise attack on Hamilton to take third:

Lap*	Driver	Message
33	To Kimi Raikkonen	Raikkonen passed Hamilton. Awesome job, and all while we were having a chat as well!

But Hamilton regained the place by under-cutting the Ferrari driver with an extra pit stop:

Lap*	Driver	Message
46	To Kimi Raikkonen	OK Hamilton’s in, push push push.
46	To Kimi Raikkonen	So we are boxing this lap?
46	From Kimi Raikkonen	I’ll let you know, I’ll let you know.
47	To Kimi Raikkonen	We know how close it’s going to be, we need everything perfect.
47	To Kimi Raikkonen	OK we’re racing, we’re racing. Come on, Kimi.
47	From Kimi Raikkonen	What you want me to do on a pit lane? To go faster?
47	To Kimi Raikkonen	No, no. I know.
VL	From Kimi Raikkonen	Is that the finish to the race?
VL	To Kimi Raikkonen	Copy, copy. OK Kimi great drive from you. Sorry we didn’t make the podium. Was just leaving it to you the last few laps.
VL	From Kimi Raikkonen	What happened at the pit stop situation? I mean, I don’t know, I don’t understand how we lost position.
VL	To Kimi Raikkonen	Yeah we need to look at it in more detail afterwards, Kimi. Lap mode Safety Car In.

Without a trace of irony, Alonso was surprised not to benefit from a Safety Car in the closing stages:

Lap*	Driver	Message
55	To Fernando Alonso	OK Fernando we are still P7, seven laps to go. Perez is +6 so no threat from behind. Manage the tyres and dash target. Let’s bank this race.
55	From Fernando Alonso	Yep. I think we need. We are doing good. It’s the first Singapore that nothing happened in front. Unbelievable.

Malaysian Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz Jnr lost his engine at the start but fortuinatley Ferrari’s power unit can be restarted using the MGU-K:

Lap*	Driver	Message
1	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	Vettel hit Rosberg while trying to pass Verstappen. The engine switched off. How is it possible? Engine off.
1	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	MGU-K, MGU-K start.

Having been blamed by the Ferrari driver for a first-lap collision in Belgium, Verstappen made sure everyone knew who was at fault in Malaysia:

Lap*	Driver	Message
1	From Sebastian Vettel	I made contact with the Mercedes. I had nowhere to go. I think that’s it. Front suspension is damaged.
1	From Max Verstappen	Really, Sebastian is crazy.
1	To Max Verstappen	Yeah, agreed.
2	From Max Verstappen	Yeah mate I mean he [censored by FOM] crashed into Rosberg like an idiot.

Australia and Bahrain must have seemed a long time ago for Grosjean as a brake problem put him out:

Lap*	Driver	Message
9	From Romain Grosjean	OK I braked but the brakes ‘breaked’.

The engine failure which cost Hamilton victory struck while he was lapping traffic:

Lap*	Driver	Message
41	From Lewis Hamilton	Charlie are you listening to me? Blue flags. Oh no! No!
41	To Lewis Hamilton	Alright Lewis just find a fire marshal, jump out, jump out. You’ve got a fire onboard, jump out.
41	To Nico Rosberg	Lewis is stopped, Lewis is out of the race. The two Red Bulls are leading now. Possible oil into turn one, OK.

Japanese Grand Prix

Hamilton’s slow start eventually proved to be the final nail in his title hopes:

Lap*	Driver	Message
3	From Lewis Hamilton	Sorry guys.
3	To Lewis Hamilton	No stress, Lewis.

A strong qualifying performance by Gutierrez was wasted when he spun trying to pass Sainz. Soon afterwards he lost his place at the team for 2017.

Lap*	Driver	Message
21	From Esteban Gutierrez	What the hell was he doing?
21	To Esteban Gutierrez	What happened? We’ll report it.
21	From Esteban Gutierrez	He blocked me completely.
21	To Esteban Gutierrez	OK, understood.

Late in the season Vettel’s radio messages became increasingly terse:

Lap*	Driver	Message
30	From Sebastian Vettel	Blue flag, honestly. It’s ridiculous, I mean, it’s ridiculous. Honestly. Lost a second. For nothing. For [censored by FOM] sake.
31	From Sebastian Vettel	Blue flag, make that Sauber go. Make him go! For pity’s sake make him go. I mean, what do you want to know? Suzuka is a quick track, it’s difficult to pass, you lose behind another car. I mean, it’s ridiculous.
31	To Sebastian Vettel	Copy that Sebastian. Keep your head down, it’s a long race.
42	From Sebastian Vettel	Blue flag, I mean it can’t be true, can it?
43	To Sebastian Vettel	Verstappen’s lap times 7.1. Hamilton lap time 6.6…
43	From Sebastian Vettel	Blue flags. I get them always up the hill. Can’t be true.
43	From Sebastian Vettel	Blue flag, come on, blue flag.
49	From Sebastian Vettel	Blue flag.
49	To Sebastian Vettel	Copy that, he has blue flag.
49	From Sebastian Vettel	Yeah but he doesn’t move. Make him move! [Censored by FOM] sake.

There were a lot of frustrated drivers by the time the chequered flag fell:

Lap*	Driver	Message
VL	From Romain Grosjean	[Censored by FOM] I never had a 11th place that hurt that much. What happened the start was [censored by FOM] but what happened? Honestly, we had the pace to do better. [Censored by FOM] we have bad luck today.
VL	To Romain Grosjean	Yeah man. Palmer made it difficult for us. You did a good drive. Frustrating stuff. You gave it a go at the end, thanks for giving it a go.
VL	From Romain Grosjean	Well that’s my job. Well done everyone. Sorry we couldn’t do better.
VL	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	Yeah what a waste of a race. What a horrible race. All the time behind cars, incredible. Impossible to overtake. I don’t know.

United States Grand Prix

Perez was the latest driver to by hit by Kvyat at the start:

Lap*	Driver	Message
5	From Sergio Perez	What an idiot, man. What a [censored by FOM] idiot. What he was doing?
17	To Daniil Kvyat	OK Danny we will have a ten second penalty on the next pit stop for the incident lap one. Keep the head down we need to go as long as possible now and we change the strategy. Keep the head down.

Verstappen produced another of his radio gems:

Lap*	Driver	Message
20	To Max Verstappen	Max just make sure that we can complete the stint we need OK, mate.
20	From Max Verstappen	I’m not here to finish fourth.

Though perhaps he should have paid a bit more attention to what he was being told:

Lap*	Driver	Message
27	From Max Verstappen	I’m boxing, I’m boxing, I’m boxing.
27	To Max Verstappen	What happened, Max?
27	From Max Verstappen	I thought you boxed me, sorry.

Verstappen’s retirement caused a Virtual Safety Car period which scuppered his team mate’s chance of finishing ahead of Rosberg:

Lap*	Driver	Message
32	From Daniel Ricciardo	So they got a free pit stop, basically?
32	To Daniel Ricciardo	Yes mate, that is correct.
32	From Daniel Ricciardo	That’s so [censored by FOM] up.
44	From Daniel Ricciardo	Keep me posted on Rosberg’s times. I would love to catch that [censored by FOM].
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	Cheers guys. Not the most exciting but it’s a podium. Thank you.
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	So we were obviously unfortunate with the VSC. It was due to Verstappen had a gearbox problem obviously and retired. So Rosberg basically would have been five seconds behind us at our pit stop but he got a free ten seconds, came out five seconds in front of us. I think you would have and should have beaten him. I don’t think he had any scary pace, you did a good job today mate.
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	Yeah I don’t doubt it. Frustrating but what do you do? It sucks. Alright. Thanks anyways, guys. Appreciate it.
VL	To Daniel Ricciardo	Well done Daniel it was a good drive. I think Rosberg on a normal strategy would probably have put the softs on as well because he run that [medium] in the middle [stint]. And they did play out your nice message on the live feed so commentators trying to work out what a ‘mofo’ is.
VL	From Daniel Ricciardo	It means he’s a really nice person, one of my best mates.

A pit stop error at Ferrari was compounded by radio confusion which led to Raikkonen retiring:

Lap*	Driver	Message
39	From Kimi Raikkonen	Why there was sparks at the rear?
39	To Kimi Raikkonen	K2 is available.
39	From Kimi Raikkonen	No, why was there…
39	To Kimi Raikkonen	There was a gun still attached as you left.
39	From Kimi Raikkonen	OK.
39	To Kimi Raikkonen	Stop, stop Kimi. Stop stop stop.
40	To Kimi Raikkonen	Sorry Kimi we think the rear’s not attached.
40	From Kimi Raikkonen	So what do I do? Switch off or go?
40	To Kimi Raikkonen	Can you come back to the pit lane? Roll back into the pit lane?
40	From Kimi Raikkonen	What you want that I reverse? I can just slide it down. It’s disallowed?
40	To Kimi Raikkonen	Don’t reverse.
40	From Kimi Raikkonen	If I let go the brakes it’s going to slide down.
40	To Kimi Raikkonen	Just let go of the brakes, Kimi.
40	From Kimi Raikkonen	So you want that I switch off?
40	To Kimi Raikkonen	You can reverse back. OK we need to switch off. Switch off, Kimi, we’re too hot, I’m sorry. So switch off Kimi, we’re too hot.

Mexican Grand Prix

FOM experimented with talking to the drivers on the formation lap:

Lap*	Driver	Message
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.

Nasr was again instructed to let Ericsson past and this time he complied – eventually:

Lap*	Driver	Message
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.

Vettel’s anger boiled over on the radio at the end of the race as he felt Verstappen needed to let him past and Ferrari incorrectly told him his rival had been instructed to. Vettel later apologised for his remarks aimed at race director Charlie Whiting:

Lap*	Driver	Message
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.

Brazilian Grand Prix

In a new low for Haas, Grosjean crashed on his way to the grid in the very wet conditions:

Lap*	Driver	Message
PR	From Romain Grosjean	What happened? I crashed. The engine suddenly… I can’t believe it.
PR	To Romain Grosjean	OK copy.

The race was red flagged after Raikkonen lost control of his car on the straight. When Kvyat slower in avoidance he was hit by Palmer:

Lap*	Driver	Message
21	From Sebastian Vettel	I mean this is just mad, honestly, it’s just stupid. Red flag. That’s what it is.
21	To Sebastian Vettel	Cool the brake and how about extreme, you think extremes?
21	From Sebastian Vettel	Yeah we need extremes, first of all, second we need to stop the race. It doesn’t work. How many people do you want to crash? I nearly crashed into Kimi in the middle of the straight. Couldn’t see anything.
21	To Sebastian Vettel	Red flag, stay out.
21	From Sebastian Vettel	Yeah, finally.
21	From Nico Hulkenberg	Woah big shunt on the straight. I have something hit in front of my chin, my front wing maybe. Some part hit my front wing, check that. The aquaplaning is not fun. These tyres are just not capable.
21	From Esteban Ocon	[Censored by FOM] hell. That was one millimetre close. Guys it is blind in the straight line now. Nicholas tell Michael that I have water coming in the helmet and I need the rain joint on the visor.
21	To Esteban Ocon	OK, copy that.
26	To Daniil Kvyat	Double yellow Danny, Raikkonen crashed in turn nine, Safety Car.
26	From Daniil Kvyat	Oh no, he crashed me. Check my sidepod, left. Car seems OK. [Censored by FOM] sake it was a big one guys. Keep checking rear-left. Palmer crashed.
26	To Daniil Kvyat	OK at the moment everything’s OK we are checking.
26	From Daniil Kvyat	Yeah confirmed, puncture.
27	To Daniil Kvyat	Yep. Take it easy.
27	To Jolyon Palmer	Double yellow end of the straight. Double yellow. Be careful. Safety Car.
27	From Jolyon Palmer	Yeah that’s me. I’ve had quite a lot of contact.

As if the conditions weren’t bad enough Gutierrez, who now knew he had lost his Haas seat, had car problems to contend with:

Lap*	Driver	Message
47	From Esteban Gutierrez	It’s going on power when I brake.
47	To Esteban Gutierrez	Understood, we are looking into it.
48	From Esteban Gutierrez	OK something is really wrong.
48	To Esteban Gutierrez	We are looking at it.
48	From Esteban Gutierrez	Fix this [censored by FOM] problem.
48	To Esteban Gutierrez	Come on Mariachi, try to stay calm, we are trying to do our best…
48	From Esteban Gutierrez	Yeah but it is going crazy the car in the corners.
48	To Esteban Gutierrez	I understand.

After much deliberation Verstappen decided to fit full wet weather tyres and drop to the rear of the field. It proved the prelude to an epic drive:

Lap*	Driver	Message
54	To Max Verstappen	Max, what tyre would you prefer to be on at this stage, mate?
54	From Max Verstappen	One hundred percent the [full wet].
54	To Max Verstappen	Copy.
54	From Max Verstappen	But then we are dropped back in traffic and then you are [censored by FOM] slow.
54	To Max Verstappen	Yeah but how much of an impression do you think you can make on an inter now?
54	From Max Verstappen	It’s all in the last sector. It was the same before. Just no grip there. You lose all the time you gain before that.
54	To Max Verstappen	So basically do you think you can get through a train of traffic on a full wet?
54	From Max Verstappen	Pace is there. I can drive at least different lines. Here I’m just fighting the car.
54	From Max Verstappen	Ah mate it’s like a boat in the last sector, I can’t do anything.
54	To Max Verstappen	Do you want to pit for full wet Max?
54	From Max Verstappen	We are waiting for a crash to happen like this.
54	To Max Verstappen	OK understood.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Jenson Button’s F1 career came to a less than fitting end:

Lap*	Driver	Message
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.

The fight for the championship came down to a question of whether Hamilton could force Rosberg into slipping up and finishing outside of the top three. As he slowed down more and more, Mercedes grew increasingly fearful they would lose their shot at victory.

In a final escalation, executive director Paddy Lowe came on the radio and ordered Hamilton to speed up. He continued to ignore them, and Lowe later admitted he refused to repeat the futile instruction.

Lap*	Driver	Message
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 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.
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.
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.
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	To Nico Rosberg	OK so four laps remaining. Remember we can afford P3, we can’t afford damage, so just be cautious with Vettel.
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.

Hamilton won the race but Rosberg won the world championship:

Lap*	Driver	Message
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!

*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.

All the 2016 F1 race transcripts

• 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Mexican Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 United States Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Japanese Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Singapore Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Italian Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Belgian Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 German Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 British Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Austrian Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 European Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Canadian Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix team radio transcripts
• 2016 Russian Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Chinese Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2016 Australian Grand Prix team radio transcript

2016 F1 season review

• The complete F1 Fanatic 2016 season review
• Your favourite F1 drivers and teams of 2016
• ‘Well done Baku’? No, it was 2016’s worst race
• F1 Fanatic’s must-read highlights of 2016
• Watch the top ten non-F1 races of 2016

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