Two “critical” radio messages to Lewis Hamilton demonstrated how his Australian Grand Prix victory chances slipped away.
The first was broadcast 18 laps into the race as Sebastian Vettel was bearing down on the race-leading Mercedes. Hamilton was urged to increase his gap over the Ferrari but replied there was “nothing left”.
Worried Ferrari could pit Vettel early and benefit from an ‘undercut’, Mercedes brought Hamilton in. He rejoined the track behind Max Verstappen, who had enough of a gap behind him that Mercedes might have expected him to pit soon. But the Red Bull stayed out, and that was a problem for Hamilton.
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Now Mercedes told him it was “critical” to overtake Verstappen. But Hamilton was suffering so much understeer from the disturbed air behind the Red Bull he wondered if his car was damaged.
In the closing stages of the race Valtteri Bottas clsoed on his team mate and told the Mercedes pit wall “I feel like I have a little bit more pace”. Some reports have claimed Bottas was told to hold position behind Hamilton, but no such messages were heard during the race broadcast.
Not all messages between teams and their drivers are broadcast. According to Mercedes Bottas was reminded he needed to get his set of tyres to the end of the race with 18 laps to go, and shortly before he said he was potentially quicker Bottas was advised both cars were in the same engine mode. These messages aside, according to Mercedes the only other communications with Bottas were to communicate information such as yellow flags.
Toro Rosso did use team orders to manage their drivers. Carlos Sainz Jnr was told to let Daniil Kvyat past so he could attack Sergio Perez ahead, on the understanding that if he failed Sainz would be let back through again.
However Kvyat ended up having to pit due to a loss of air pressure in his Renault power unit, much to his disappointment. “It’s not cool,” he complained after the race.
2017 Australian Grand Prix team radio transcript
Lap* | Driver | Message |
---|---|---|
PR | To Felipe Massa | Track temperature is now 39 degrees. We’ve not run these tyres in this sort of temperatures before but my feeling is the rear is always going to be the weakening side. Maybe another half degree? |
PR | From Felipe Massa | I think so, yeah, take away a half-degree. |
PR | To Valtteri Bottas | Wind direction is the same. The track temperature is starting to drop. |
PR | To Fernando Alonso | The following are on starting on prime: Ericsson and Stroll. The following are on back-up: It’s the Sauber [Giovinazzi], Magnussen and Palmer. |
PR | To Nico Hulkenberg | Nobody told me that the gears are not synced any more. |
PR | To Antonio Giovinazzi | The car is moving again in first gear. |
PR | From Lewis Hamilton | Grip feels poor on the grid. |
1 | To Kevin Magnussen | Do you have damage? Oh, you have a puncture. |
3 | From Stoffel Vandoorne | My dash is not working. |
3 | To Stoffel Vandoorne | Understood Stoffel. Currently you’re doing well. Stoffel do you mean you have no display at all, or just fuel? |
3 | From Stoffel Vandoorne | It’s stuck on the out-lap dash. |
4 | To Daniil Kvyat | DRS should be enabled, try again. |
4 | From Daniil Kvyat | No, doesn’t work for me. |
4 | From Lewis Hamilton | Struggling for grip. |
4 | To Lewis Hamilton | OK, copy. |
5 | From Marcus Ericsson | Something is not right in the rear. |
5 | To Marcus Ericsson | Yes Marcus we can see some loss of downforce in the rear. |
7 | To Stoffel Vandoorne | Car behind is now Ricciardo. Don’t get tangled up with Ricciardo, he’s a lapped car. |
7 | From Nico Hulkenberg | Grip is super-poor both front and rear axle. Just struggling for grip at the moment. |
7 | To Max Verstappen | OK Max so we’ll have a balance update and a tyre phase rotary update when you can please. |
7 | From Max Verstappen | All good, a bit of oversteer, a bit of understeer but it’s just because I’m close to Kimi. |
7 | To Daniel Riccairdo | Alright Daniel, get stuck in, have fun. |
8 | From Stoffel Vandoorne | I’m low on power. |
8 | To Stoffel Vandoorne | Copy, we’re investigating. |
8 | From Stoffel Vandoorne | No power. |
8 | To Stoffel Vandoorne | Copy Stoffel, stay out. |
9 | From Lewis Hamilton | 28.0 is not possible |
9 | To Lewis Hamilton | OK copy Lewis, just need to keep building that gap. |
9 | To Daniil Kvyat | Tyres are stabilising and track temperature is starting to drop. |
9 | To Lewis Hamilton | OK Lewis you’re doing a great job now, just keep it up. |
9 | From Valtteri Bottas | Tyres are holding on well. |
9 | To Lewis Hamilton | 1.6, the gap’s at 1.6. |
10 | To Sebastian Vettel | You can push. Very good lap, Sebastian, keep pushing like this, you are doing well. |
10 | To Valtteri Bottas | Need to carry more speed turn 14 and turn one late entry. |
10 | From Daniil Kvyat | Overheating, at the moment I feel quite a bit of overheating. |
10 | To Daniil Kvyat | Copy, I’ll keep you posted. |
10 | To Stoffel Vandoorne | Vandoorne pitted to reset his car. OK Stoffel apply the brakes during the stop. You need to do the power cycle. Don’t try and restart the engine as normal. |
11 | From Lewis Hamilton | Tyres are overheating. |
12 | From Stoffel Vandoorne | The pack is not doing anything. The pack is just empty. |
13 | From Jolyon Palmer | Problem, problem. |
13 | To | OK, understood, talk to us. |
13 | To | No, anchored on the brakes. |
13 | To Jolyon Palmer | Anchored on the brakes, understood. Can you move at all? |
13 | From Jolyon Palmer | Yep, I’m moving. |
13 | To Jolyon Palmer | You’re moving. OK, carry on, we’ll see what it is and get back to you. |
14 | To Valtteri Bottas | That’s good pace there. |
15 | From Jolyon Palmer | Ah same problem! |
15 | To Jolyon Palmer | Understood Jo, we’ll get back to you, understood. |
17 | From Felipe Massa | I’m losing time behind this guy, so it’s a little bit different to last year. I’m very close to him, guys, sorry. How close do I need to be, one second? |
17 | To Felipe Massa | Yep we need one second. |
17 | From Felipe Massa | Unbelievable. For sure I am one second. |
17 | To Felipe Massa | Yep we think that’s one second now. OK he’s getting proper blue flags now, he has blues. |
18 | From Jolyon Palmer | Aaargh, same again. |
18 | To Jolyon Palmer | OK Jo we’re going to retire you this lap. Sorry about that. But you did a good job out there today. We’re going to retire you this lap. |
18 | To Lewis Hamilton | Lewis we’re going to need to get this gap, it’s critical. Gap 1.7. |
18 | From Lewis Hamilton | There’s nothing left. |
18 | From Romain Grosjean | I lost the power. |
18 | To Romain Grosjean | Lost power, OK, understood. |
18 | From Romain Grosjean | What’s going on? What do we do? |
18 | To Romain Grosjean | Box, box. I think we’re done Romain you have to switch it off, sorry mate. |
20 | To Sebastian Vettel | Tyres look very healthy. Keep pushing like this. You are doing very well. Keep your head down. |
22 | From Lewis Hamilton | Still a lot of understeer, is the floor OK? |
22 | To Lewis Hamilton | Everything OK on the aero data, Lewis. |
22 | From Lewis Hamilton | Let me know where I stand so I can look after tyres if needed. |
22 | To Lewis Hamilton | This is race-critical, you need to get past Verstappen. |
22 | From Lewis Hamilton | Repeat, repeat, you’re quiet. |
22 | To Lewis Hamilton | You are still safe to Vettel, we need to get past Verstappen. |
22 | From Lewis Hamilton | I don’t know how you expect me to do that right now. |
23 | To Kimi Raikkonen | Hamilton currently stuck behind Verstappen behind, this is good for our race as well, Kimi. |
23 | From Marcus Ericsson | Hydraulic failure, red light. |
23 | To Marcus Ericsson | OK I’ll come back to you. |
23 | From Marcus Ericsson | I cannot shift. I’m losing steering assistance. |
23 | From Lewis Hamilton | There’s no way I can get past this guy. |
23 | To Lewis Hamilton | OK copy that Lewis, just keep the pressure on. |
23 | From Max Verstappen | I’m starting to struggle a little bit more with the rears. |
25 | To Daniel Ricciardo | OK Daniel Ericsson has stopped between turn 12 and turn 13. Remember we are in the Safety Car window. For your reference Daniel a lot of the leaders have swapped onto the soft tyre at their first stop. |
25 | From Lewis Hamilton | There’s nothing left in these tyres, guys, they’re already sliding. |
25 | To Max Verstappen | OK Max let’s push and box. |
27 | From Lewis Hamilton | OK Lewis so we’re thinking B now, plan B. |
28 | From Nico Hulkenberg | It’s unbelievable. [Censored by FOM] hell. This dirty air is incredible. |
31 | To Daniel Ricciardo | OK Daniel essential we’re turning down the engine a bit to try to save it, it’s a few tenths a lap, it’s not a disaster. The sad truth is that we’ll get points through Safety Car, not through pace today. Still worth hanging out because there are possibilities but let’s save the engine, not make our day any worse. |
31 | From Daniel Ricciardo | Understood |
31 | From Daniel Ricciardo | OK, I guess we didn’t save it. I’ll go to P0. I’ll wait for your call, but… |
31 | To Daniel Ricciardo | No P1, don’t go to P0 just yet mate. We can’t restart the car in P0. Just hang in there, we’ll check the data, we’ll let you know, OK. |
31 | To Daniel Ricciardo | OK Daniel, P0. Sorry mate. Car’s done. Don’t know what to tell you, mate. |
31 | From Daniel Ricciardo | Let’s get the [censored by FOM] out of here. |
32 | To Daniil Kvyat | We are looking very good on the strategy, Danny, keep going. |
33 | To Lewis Hamilton | OK Lewis Vettel 28.1. Just let us know what you can do, we need to close that gap. Looking for high 27s. |
33 | From Lewis Hamilton | Is fuel OK? |
33 | To Lewis Hamilton | Yeah, Fuel is good. |
33 | To Sebastian Vettel | Still a long way to go, keep your head down. |
36 | To Lewis Hamilton | Tyres look like they’re holding up so I don’t think people are going to struggle at the end. May have to stretch it out. Sticking on Plan A. |
38 | To Sergio Perez | Tyre is good. We can push on the tyre. |
38 | From Sergio Perez | Yeah but don’t get too excited, man. There might be Safety Cars or something, no? |
39 | To Kimi Raikkonen | It’s not over yet, Kimi. Hamilton is complaining he might not be able to make these tyres last until the end. At the minute if Hamilton had to stop he would come out behind Verstappen. |
41 | From Lewis Hamilton | The timing of this message is curious given Hamilton’s lap 36 message. Perhaps this message was delayed, or Ferrari had overlooked Hamilton’s ‘Plan A’ message, or they had heard something which was not broadcast, or they were trying to keep Raikkonen motivated by being economical with the truth. How much longer are my tyres competitive? |
41 | To Lewis Hamilton | Eight laps older for Valtteri, six laps for Vettel. |
42 | To Kimi Raikkonen | Hamilton still complaining a lot about tyres, Kimi. Just keep… |
42 | From Kimi Raikkonen | OK, OK. |
43 | To Carlos Sainz Jnr | OK Carlos. Swap position now. |
43 | From Carlos Sainz Jnr | It’s a little bit early. |
43 | To Carlos Sainz Jnr | Do it now, please. Vettel is coming behind and it will be a blue flag. I will explain later. |
43 | From Carlos Sainz Jnr | He will give me the position back if he doesn’t pass Perez, right? |
43 | To Carlos Sainz Jnr | Yes, Carlos, yes. |
43 | From Carlos Sainz Jnr | OK, I let him by. |
43 | To Carlos Sainz Jnr | Now, please, yes. |
44 | From Lance Stroll | I think I had brake failure. Yeah I think something broke. Tell me. |
44 | To Lance Stroll | OK. Box, box. |
44 | From Lance Stroll | Argh, I missed it, sorry, I didn’t know. Sorry. |
44 | To Lance Stroll | OK just take it easy. |
44 | From Lance Stroll | Think I got a [unclear] failure. |
44 | To Lance Stroll | OK copy. So we’re going to push you back into the garage, Lance. |
44 | From Lance Stroll | Shame. |
45 | From Lewis Hamilton | Power dropping in and out. |
45 | To Lewis Hamilton | OK copy we’ll get a look at it. |
47 | To Max Verstappen | So Max just be sensible. You saw how difficult it was, Lewis was unable to pass you on fresh tyres. So make sure you’ve got good grip to the end of the race. Obviously if the opportunity presents itself don’t be shy. |
48 | From Valtteri Bottas | Tyres will be OK to the end, no problem. |
48 | To Valtteri Bottas | Copy that. |
48 | From Valtteri Bottas | I feel like I have a little bit more pace but struggling to get closer. |
48 | To Valtteri Bottas | Copy that. |
51 | To Daniil Kvyat | OK Dany we will have to box soon, we have a problem with the engine air. Don’t worry we still have… |
51 | From Daniil Kvyat | No, let’s stay out guys. |
51 | To Daniil Kvyat | Box Danny, we can still stay in front of Alonso. You cannot stay out. Box, box. |
51 | From Daniil Kvyat | Is there anything I can do? I can drive slower. |
51 | To Daniil Kvyat | No, engine air refill. We will go to ultra. Box, box. |
52 | From Kevin Magnussen | Suspension failure. Do you want me to bring it home or stop the car? |
52 | To Kevin Magnussen | Stop the car where you are. |
53 | From Fernando Alonso | [Censored by FOM] there is something wrong with the car. We lost something. It is pulling to the left. There is something on the suspension, maybe. |
53 | To Fernando Alonso | OK Fernando we need to retire. Box this lap, cool the car on the way back. |
54 | To Carlos Sainz Jnr | OK Carlos four laps to go. I will leave you alone. Push like animal. We can reach Perez. Push like a mad animal. |
55 | To Daniil Kvyat | OK Danny just bring it to the flag, OK? Situation is very calm for us. Just bring it to the flag. |
55 | From Daniil Kvyat | OK. Should I get the fastest lap or not? |
55 | To Daniil Kvyat | No, Vettel does. |
55 | From Daniil Kvyat | OK, how much off? |
55 | To Daniil Kvyat | One-tenth. Danny, bring it to the flag, we have some points on the table, just bring it to the flag. |
55 | From Daniil Kvyat | Calm, OK. |
56 | From Max Verstappen | How much faster is the fastest lap? |
56 | To Max Verstappen | Too fast. Two laps remaining. We just want to bring it home. |
VL | To Sebastian Vettel | P1 Sebastian. Awesome drive, that’s the way to do it. |
VL | To Sebastian Vettel | Grande Sebastian, bravissimo. |
VL | From Sebastian Vettel | Woohoo! Forza Ferrari, regazzai. Questa e per noi. Tutti noi. Grazie tutti. Grande lavoro. Grande macchina. Thank you everyone. Woo-hoo! |
VL | To Lewis Hamilton | OK Lewis, well done mate, sorry about that. P2 still, not a bad result, plenty to learn from this race. Good drive. |
VL | To Antonio Giovinazzi | OK Antonio that was a very good race from your side, P12. Congratulations, very good race for your first Formula One race. |
VL | To Valtteri Bottas | So a good job Valtteri. P3. Good job. |
VL | From Valtteri Bottas | Thanks guys. The reds were definitely too quick. |
VL | To Max Verstappen | Well done. As expected. You did a really solid job. |
VL | From Max Verstappen | Yep it was not bad. Think the balance of the car was quite good. |
VL | To Max Verstappen | Well done Max it was a very good drive. You were on the right tyre in the second stint. Good afternoon’s work, well done. |
VL | To Stoffel Vandoorne | I think you drove really well. Well done Stoffel. I’m sorry about the problem we had with the car which was a shame. But I think your pace was good, it was a good job. |
VL | From Stoffel Vandoorne | Yeah thanks guys. Difficult weekend. I think we knew that before coming here. But I think it’s already an achievement to go to the finish. I think we didn’t expect this after Barcelona. Even though the pace wasn’t so good we made it to the end. Still a lot of work to do. |
VL | To Carlos Sainz Jnr | P8 Carlos. |
VL | From Carlos Sainz Jnr | Yeah, thank you. A shame on Perez after the pit stop, couldn’t hold on to him because of the top speed. So that’s it. |
VL | To Carlos Sainz Jnr | Yep we saw that on the TV. |
VL | To Sergio Perez | Great job Checo, well done, P7. |
VL | From Sergio Perez | Good job, guys. Good start. We are obviously lacking a lot of pace at the moment. So let’s really focus and try to get those updates soon. But good job man I think we maximised the day. Well doen to everyone. |
VL | To Esteban Ocon | Chequered flag, well done mate, that’s tenth place. A point. |
VL | From Esteban Ocon | Awesome guys thank you. Good strategy, very good. Such a shame with Alonso in front, he blocked me all race. But first points of a lot of them. |
VL | To Daniil Kvyat | OK Danny sorry for that. P7 was clearly on the table for us. |
VL | From Daniil Kvyat | Cheers guys. Did a good job. But this engine fuss cost us more points. It’s not cool. |
VL | To Daniil Kvyat | Yeah, hard luck, no worries. You’ve done very well mate. Very good weekend. Very strong. |
VL | From Daniil Kvyat | Thank you sunshine! |
VL | To Daniil Kvyat | No, please! |
VL | To Nico Hulkenberg | Tough race, mate. Well done for hanging in there. |
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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Australian Grand Prix data
2017 Australian Grand Prix
- 2017 Australian Grand Prix team radio transcript
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Team radio transcripts
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Scepter (@scepter)
31st March 2017, 13:13
I wish Liberty would publish all the transcripts, the meaning is lost without the context.
Anatoli68 (@anatoli68)
31st March 2017, 13:36
Whole transcripts would nice but this is already much better than what we had last year.
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
3rd April 2017, 9:26
@anatoli68 We already had this last year…
Anatoli68 (@anatoli68)
3rd April 2017, 14:16
@ho3n3r Ok maybe I should have been more specific. What I meant was that due to team radio restriction in the beginning of the last year, the transcripts were also quite a bit shorter. Sometimes we had something like this for the race transcript: https://www.racefans.net/2016/07/07/2016-austrian-grand-prix-team-radio-transcript/
CoasterJunkie
31st March 2017, 13:13
Bottas looked so grumpy on the podium I kind of took it as read that he had been told to hold position and not press Hamilton….
David Bell
31st March 2017, 15:04
Find facts to back up claims. Just like the evidence has come out with Toto saying once they realised (quite early on in the race) that Hamilton wasn’t going to win they turned his engine down and therefore allowed Bottas to close up.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
31st March 2017, 15:45
@David Bell Well said mate. These same people whining about it did not mind it when Massa had to move over for Alonso, was not aloud to attack Alonso and even took a penalty for Alonso (USGP2012) smh.
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
3rd April 2017, 9:30
@patienceandtime struggling to find the correlation between Merc ensuring a formation finish, and fans being selectively judgemental about team orders.
It’s like comparing apples and… motor oil?
pking008 (@pking008)
31st March 2017, 21:44
you sir are a 1st class clown . you’re reading the transcript yet conjuring up ghost to claim Bottas was ordered to not attack just because its Hamilton? what did Hamilton ever do to some of yous?
OOliver
31st March 2017, 22:30
Valtteri Bottas: I feel like I have a little bit more pace but struggling to get closer.
Bio
31st March 2017, 13:35
Toto Wolff admitted at the end of the race that they freezed the positions…
Tom
31st March 2017, 13:57
No he didn’t. You can even see in the transcript Bottas says he has more pace but can’t get close to Hamilton. Why do you feel the need to make lies ?
kanan
31st March 2017, 14:06
How do you know he’s lying or making things up? What are you overcompensating for with the way you are attacking without questioning in a kind manner? The Internet does not give anyone any rights to lie or to be rude at all.
Is this how you people behave in real life….
Kraven83
31st March 2017, 14:17
http://www.formulapassion.it/2017/03/f1-wolff-ordini-scuderia-bottas/
The last sentence of the article, by Toto (translated from Italian): “Lewis had older tyres, we told him to manage [them] to try and finish the race without attacking too much. Then, we asked Bottas to do the same”.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
31st March 2017, 14:56
I asked Mercedes about that article before writing this piece and was told what Wolff is quoted as saying in it is not what he said. Note that the quote in question was not given to that website, it’s from an interview Wolff gave to Sky F1 Italia.
pking008 (@pking008)
31st March 2017, 21:58
Exactly! the anyone but Hamilton would conjure up even the remotest unlikely piece to try to discredit him
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
1st April 2017, 3:31
@pking008 It’s getting out of control with the Hamilton hate, seriously smh.
Neil (@neilosjames)
31st March 2017, 13:56
Looking at the rest of the race, one Mercedes wouldn’t have had a fireball on Pluto’s chance of passing another Mercedes on that circuit anyway, unless one of them broke down… so I don’t suppose it matters whether the request was made or not.
kpcart
31st March 2017, 14:48
It matters for pride and context.. Bottas in his first race at Mercedes, paid probably only 1/4 of what Hamilton is being paid, driving faster than Hamilton, dirty air of new cars saved Hamilton the embarrassment it seems.
Lums (@lums)
31st March 2017, 15:14
“dirty air of new cars saved Hamilton the embarrassment it seems”
Really?
Ed
31st March 2017, 16:01
Driving faster than Hamilton.. lol
While Hamilton had problems with his tyres at the end because of his early pit that he did TRYING TO WIN the race, Bottas was in better shape cuz he was cruising alone and much behind. He didn t need to change his cuz he was already behind.
He never offered Mercedes a chance to win. So saying he was faster or that Hamilton was saved from the embarrasment is an absolute joke.
Philip (@philipgb)
31st March 2017, 19:42
The way people will twist events to suit their narrative is what’s embarrassing.
Hamilton drove the Mercedes to the best possible result it could achieve that day with the tactics used. Bottas going easier and longer on his first stint didn’t magic him ahead of Vettel, so Hamiltons driving early on was justified to give them a chance.
Samouri (@samouri)
31st March 2017, 20:11
kpcart….At the start of the race, Bottas never kept pace with Vettel in order to challenge him for second place, and was 10 seconds behind Lewis when he made his first pit stop.
Faster than Hamilton…..not really.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
31st March 2017, 19:39
@neilosjames
Oh that’s good, I’m nicking that one :-)
Neil (@neilosjames)
1st April 2017, 1:08
@keithcollantine It was going to be the more common ‘snowball in hell’, but I occasionally get caught by the ‘post is awaiting moderation’ thing (and usually have no idea why), so decided to go creative in case ‘hell’ set it off!
Jay
31st March 2017, 14:28
Merc apologized to Lewis for making another dumb pit call.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
31st March 2017, 15:48
@Jay How many times did Ferrari apologized for Alonso ?..
Kgn11
31st March 2017, 16:34
It seems like no matter what you guys read, you’ve already made up your mind to blame Hamilton for something which was not his decision alone.
Before the race both drivers were asked to give frequent feedback on the tires, he did that. Yes he asked to come in, but that wasn’t just his decision, Mercedes had all the info, they could’ve easily said to stay out as his pace was still better than those behind him and Seb, they made the decision assuming that Max would’ve stopped on the same lap. Had Max done so, Lewis would’ve walked off with another easy win and everyone would be screaming their heads off that it’s going to be another boring season of Mercedes dominance.
Jay
31st March 2017, 17:12
I blame Mercedes for them making the call to come in too early. Hamilton would not have wanted to be pitted into 5th place traffic. The team panicked just lke Malaysia/Monaco 2015. This should have been an easy win for HAM.
Kgn11
31st March 2017, 17:43
At first I did, but when I reviewed the entire thing, it wasn’t that bad a call. If I blame them for anything, it was to assume that Max/RB would’ve stopped on the same or Lewis’ first flying lap. Had Max stopped early, Lewis/MB would’ve won the race.
Ronald (@mosquito)
31st March 2017, 16:50
Well, at least this time he asked for it himself.
kanan
1st April 2017, 7:07
Hamilton fans have even started to attack each other preemptively it seems, just in case one of them might be criticizing the driver…
Ru Chern (@)
31st March 2017, 15:41
It seemed awkwardly quiet in the Ferrari pit wall.
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
3rd April 2017, 9:41
More like “comfortably”, since everything was under control.
Maciek (@maciek)
31st March 2017, 15:46
Logic would dictate that if Bottas was able to catch Hamilton he was told overtly or not that third was good enough on that day. Further aggravating their star driver is not something these guys, who are smart guys, would want to do.
Kgn11
31st March 2017, 16:35
However there’s no evidence to support that logic. Lewis was substantially faster than Max and couldn’t get by, you really think Bottas was just going to cruise up behind Lewis and breeze by him? Really?
SurferMark
31st March 2017, 22:37
If the team bosses had given any instruction detrimental to Bottas during the race it would have caused terrible negativitiy on Bottas’s side of the garage right at the beggining of the season. Smart bosses don’t neg out their team!
Robbie (@robbie)
1st April 2017, 0:15
I doubt that VB would have been considering trying to catch and pass LH, and I doubt that TW needed to order VB to stand pat, and if TW had told VB to stand pat I would understand that as it would have simply risked an issue for no gain as all that would have happened would have been a driver swap in position but no change in points for the team. Early days, they’re learning the cars and tires still, and there’s everything to play for yet.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
31st March 2017, 16:35
It now transpires the suspension problem Magnussen reported wasn’t actually a suspension problem and he needn’t have retired:
https://www.racefans.net/2017/03/31/magnussen-retired-unnecessarily-in-australia/
Friederike (@rike)
31st March 2017, 17:01
Curious that vettel seemed to be the only one without a problem in following, and by doing so keeping tires and temperatures in check…. Kimi complained very few too, considering he seemed way off in the race (except the last laps where he pushed for fasted lap), but that would fit his narrative that they knew what was going wrong the week end
Kgn11
31st March 2017, 17:32
Yes he had problems following, said as much after the race. The reason why it looked like he didn’t have a problem was simply because of the issues with Hamilton’s car. Look at Kimi, he wasn’t able to follow closely to Bottas who wasn’t having the same problems.
mmertens (@mmertens)
31st March 2017, 17:41
Keith, I have a question: does the coaching drivers rule was “relaxed”? I thought the drivers weren’t allowed to get driving tips like this one to Bottas:
“Need to carry more speed turn 14 and turn one late entry.”
It looks they’re clearly helping him, not?
Thanks
Patrick (@paeschli)
31st March 2017, 17:53
@mmertens They reversed that rule at the end of last year.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
31st March 2017, 19:35
@mmertens Yer as @paeschli points out that was reversed last year as of the German Grand Prix and the only such restriction which still applies is the ban on radio messages to the driver between then start of the formation lap and the start of the race, to limit the assistance they receive with optimising their starts.
mmertens (@mmertens)
31st March 2017, 23:27
Thanks a lot for the reply Patrick and Keith! It’s appreciated! It’s kind of silly to restore this driver assistance rule in my opinion!
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
1st April 2017, 10:48
Lewis Hamilton lost the race because he couldn’t manage the tyres/get the right feel in the tyres. Let’s not make this more complicated than need be.
AndrewW
2nd April 2017, 22:47
Outlets such as BBC suggest HAM’s engine was turned down when Merc realised the couldn’t catch VET. How does this fit into the narrative? Anyone proffer some Merc sources on this? I also thought it curious that BOT, who struggled more for pace in the first stint, ran significantly longer than HAM. My take is that HAM panicked and pushed Merc into a premature pitstop despite still-healthy laptimes. 2-3 more laps out and HAM would likely not have lost track position and the Merc, being what it was on mediums, would have had a very good chance of remaining P1 through the chequered flag.
BOT is a better racer (wet racing, overtaking etc.) than ROS and Australia suggests he is a better qualifier that, I for one, thought. HAM appears complacent, so I expect him to be shocked into an attitudinal shift fairly soon.
Buffy
3rd April 2017, 22:39
http://www.planetf1.com/news/wolff-very-impressed-with-bottas-first-race/
“Wolff, though, did conceded that Bottas was aided in his efforts to catch Hamilton when Mercedes dialled back the Brit’s car.
He added: “Having said that we had taken pace out of Lewis quite early when it became apparent we wouldn’t win under normal circumstances.
“But I am very happy with his performance.”
zimkazimka (@zimkazimka)
3rd April 2017, 8:00
Who’s the Sunshine?