Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Hungaroring, 2017

2017 Hungarian Grand Prix team radio transcript

2017 Hungarian Grand Prix

4th August 2017, 12:134th August 2017, 12:22 | Written by Keith Collantine

Could Kimi Raikkonen have won the Hungarian Grand Prix if he’d taken matters into his own hands regarding his pit strategy?

And did a loss of radio communications at Mercedes cost them a better result?

Lewis Hamilton was unable to speak to his team for much of the first half of the race, leaving him unable to give them feedback on the state of his tyres. By the time his radio problems were fixed Hamilton had already made his pit stop. He informed the team he had been able to run much longer on his tyres – had they been aware this could have given them more strategic options.

Ferrari were able to hear what Raikkonen was saying which, for the most part, was complaints about being kept bottled up behind his team mate, who had to cope with a steering problem. Raikkonen began complaining about being “stuck behind Seb” before they made their pit stops.

If Raikkonen did try to delay his pit stop there were no radio messages played on the television broadcasts which indicate him doing so. Last year Vettel had no problems calling the shots when it came to his pit strategy when he felt the team had called him in too early.

He delayed his pit stop by multiple laps on more than one occasion. Had Raikkonen done the same in Hungary he might have won.

While Ferrari were unwilling to let one car past the other, Renault had no hesitations about pulling a swap of their own to move Nico Hulkenberg ahead of Jolyon Palmer. Their message – “Nico’s quicker than you” – had more than a slight ring of one notorious past team radio message about it.

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2017 Hungarian Grand Prix team radio transcript

Lap*	Driver	Message
PR	From Lewis Hamilton	I mean the car does turn in. The rear tyres are going to die. Willing to bet they don’t last a one-stop.
1	From Daniel Ricciardo	Someone hit me. If that’s who I think it was. Yeah it’s [censored by FOM].
1	To Daniel Ricciardo	Yeah mate we can see.
1	From Daniel Ricciardo	Was that who I think it was?
1	To Daniel Ricciardo	Yeah.
1	From Daniel Ricciardo	[Censored by FOM] sore loser.
1	From Romain Grosjean	OK I’ve been massively hit but I don’t know who so I don’t know if the car’s got any damage.
1	To Romain Grosjean	Yeah it’s guy in a Renault.
1	From Romain Grosjean	The guy’s a stupid…
1	To Romain Grosjean	Yes understood. We’re watching the data now.
1	From Romain Grosjean	And Ericsson just pushed me off.
2	To Sergio Perez	Checo did you have any contact on the first lap?
2	From Sergio Perez	No. Just a little touch from Esteban but I think all is good.
3	From Max Verstappen	Can you see any front wing damage?
3	To Max Verstappen	Nothing according to data at the moment.
4	To Jolyon Palmer	OK Jo as you might have seen there’s some oil on track where Ricciardo has stopped at turn three but that’s well off-line.
5	From Fernando Alonso	OK so they didn’t leave me space out of one, pushed me in the gravel. It should be very clear.
5	From Kevin Magnussen	I think if you can do what Hulkenberg did to Romain then it’s going to be a dirty race.
7	From Lewis Hamilton	Hamilton attempted to pass Verstappen. That guy’s dangerous, it wasn’t worth the risk.
7	To Lewis Hamilton	Copy Lewis, we see what you’re doing, happy with that.
7	From Fernando Alonso	Sainz forced Alonso wide at turn one. OK so they didn’t leave me space out of one, push me in the gravel so it should be very clear.
8	From Lewis Hamilton	Hamilton asked whether Verstappen’s penalty for hitting Ricciardo required him to pit right away and was told it didn’t. Not a stop-and-go?
8	To Lewis Hamilton	It’ll be ten seconds added to his pit stop.
10	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis radio check, radio check, we’re having IT issues in the garage.
10	From Fernando Alonso	Alonso seems to have just been informed Sainz was under investigation. OK but there should not be too much to discuss, you cannot drive against other cars, simple.
12	To Lewis Hamilton	Loud and clear. Good to have you back.
13	From Nico Hulkenberg	Think I’m going to take a little breather from that group.
13	To Nico Hulkenberg	Understood Nico.
16	From Marcus Ericsson	Cannot get closer to him, it’s impossible. This track is impossible. I’m so much faster otherwise I would not be this close.
16	To Marcus Ericsson	OK Marcus copy that, stay close to him, I’ll come back to you.
16	From Marcus Ericsson	Let me try catching Di Resta. I can catch him.
17	From Lewis Hamilton	Tyres feel fine.
17	To Lewis Hamilton	OK copy.
17	From Lewis Hamilton	I don’t have a big enough delta to close the gap and get past him though.
17	To Lewis Hamilton	Yeah no problem there Lewis, hopefully that should be taken care of.
18	From Kevin Magnussen	The tyre’s OK but I feel like I’m driving on oil everywhere, there’s no grip.
18	To Kevin Magnussen	I think it’s a general comment from everybody. Your pace is good.
19	To Jolyon Palmer	OK Jo Nico’s quicker than you please don’t hold him up.
19	To Nico Hulkenberg	Jo has been asked to let you past. Jo is slower than you.
20	To Jolyon Palmer	Thank you for that Jo. Please focus on the race now.
21	To Romain Grosjean	The front-left tyre pressure is slowly dropping. We’re monitoring it.
21	From Romain Grosjean	Wonderful.
21	To Romain Grosjean	OK I think we have a slow leak so we’ll box, box now. Mode puncture. Front-left is low pressure.
22	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	Sector one and three lap times…
22	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	OK, leave me alone, please.
22	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	OK.
22	To Romain Grosjean	OK Romain stop the car, just bring the car in slowly, we believe we have a crossed wheel nut so just go slow, we’ll come back to you. Do you feel anything loose?
22	From Romain Grosjean	Yes.
22	To Romain Grosjean	OK we need to stop the car.
23	To Kevin Magnussen	Lost a little bit with the double yellow but we have more pace than Palmer, we can do it.
24	To Valtteri Bottas	Currently on lap 23 we’re target plus five at the moment but ideally we’d like to close the gap to cars ahead. Just need to keep the tyres in good shape.
24	From Valtteri Bottas	That’s a bit tricky combo to be honest.
25	From Sebastian Vettel	Check the steering, it’s hanging to the left when I go straight.
25	To Sebastian Vettel	Is it getting worse or is stable?
25	From Sebastian Vettel	I thought it’s getting worse.
26	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis press the marker button if you hear us.
26	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis we saw the marker button press we think the radio is one-way.
27	To Valtteri Bottas	So Valtteri we’re having some radio problems still. You are in your VSC and Safety Car windows so you’ll be in if you see them. Just confirm.
27	From Valtteri Bottas	Copy.
28	From Nico Hulkenberg	No chance, even with DRS they’re faster on the straight. So you know what you have to do.
29	To Max Verstappen	How much faster do you think you could go at this stage?
29	From Max Verstappen	Maybe a few tenths.
30	To Kimi Raikkonen	Yeah it’s OK but I’m stuck now behind Seb.
31	To Valtteri Bottas	Box, box.
31	From Sebastian Vettel	Vettel didn’t want his first stint to be extended, perhaps mindful of their tyre failures at Silverstone. Fronts are not in a healthy shape.
31	To Sebastian Vettel	Understood, will be soon.
31	From Sebastian Vettel	Don’t extend it.
33	To Kimi Raikkonen	Raikkonen wasn’t impressed with Di Resta. Hey what the [censored by FOM] is this Williams guy? I mean if he cannot see behind then he stay on the reporting stuff.
34	To Lewis Hamilton	Chassis default 51, we’re on the backup radio now, see if you can transmit.
34	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis no joy on the backup radio, we can see you’re keying up.
34	From Kimi Raikkonen	I had the speed to stay out.
36	From Carlos Sainz Jnr	No front-left or rear-left.
36	To Carlos Sainz Jnr	Carlos, copy, do your best.
38	From Kimi Raikkonen	He is going full speed? Because obviously Mercedes is catching. I have nothing I can do.
38	To Kimi Raikkonen	Understood Kimi. He has handling issues at the minute, Kimi, he is struggling with his handling.
39	To Sebastian Vettel	Try to avoid heavy kerbing.
39	To Fernando Alonso	What a fantastic move Fernando. Just be careful, Sainz still very close behind. Palmer behind is on 37-lap-old options.
39	To Valtteri Bottas	We believe Vettel has an issue so you can close the gap.
41	From Kimi Raikkonen	Whatever you meant you put me under massive threat from Mercedes for no reason.
41	To Kimi Raikkonen	Understood.
41	To Max Verstappen	Any sudden drop from the front-left tyre, you let us know please.
41	From Max Verstappen	I will.
42	To Valtteri Bottas	Ferrari cannot use the kerbs. Just close them down and attack for five laps.
42	To Max Verstappen	OK Max box and pit confirm.
44	From Lewis Hamilton	Radio check.
44	To Lewis Hamilton	Ah I’ve got you back, Lewis, I can hear you mate.
44	From Lewis Hamilton	OK man I’ve got a lot of pace now let me use it. I don’t know why the Ferraris are slow.
44	To Lewis Hamilton	Yeah copy Lewis we’re looking into it, we’re looking into on the situation.
44	From Lewis Hamilton	And this radio stuff sucks. My last tyres were perfect, I could’ve kept going.
44	To Lewis Hamilton	Yeah I have to agree with you there Lewis. It’s all a bit rubbish at the moment. But yeah, keep your head down, race is going to come to us, just keep your tyres in good shape and things will start happening soon.
44	From Lewis Hamilton	If I can’t catch them and get past then I have to let him back past. Let me know when I can race Valtteri.
44	To Lewis Hamilton	Yeah copy Lewis. We are looking at it, we are managing it, we’ll let you know.
46	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis so we don’t know what fixed the radio. Just keep talking to us.
46	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis Valtteri is going to let you past into turn one. Go strat mode three. Ferraris just up ahead.
47	From Kimi Raikkonen	Yeah I have speed, a lot, but obviously this won’t be helping it.
47	To Kimi Raikkonen	Copy, copy.
49	From Nico Hulkenberg	Feel like I’ve got some braking deg, brakes are getting worse.
49	To Nico Hulkenberg	OK Nico stand by.
49	To Nico Hulkenberg	We did have some problems with the left-front getting very hot, it should get better.
50	From Kimi Raikkonen	I don’t know, I’m not in the most comfortable position, still I am, but soon.
50	To Kimi Raikkonen	Understood, Vettel has been told to push, stay with him.
51	To Valtteri Bottas	Make sure you stay close to Lewis so we can re-invert the cars.
51	From Lewis Hamilton	It’s getting very hard to get close.
51	To Lewis Hamilton	Just do what you can, we’ve got overtake available.
51	To Lewis Hamilton	OK Lewis we’re going to have five laps to try and make something of this.
51	From Lewis Hamilton	No pressure, then.
52	From Nico Hulkenberg	Hulkenberg was pushed wide by Magnussen. This guy is just dangerous.
55	From Kimi Raikkonen	Yeah I’m going to only ruin my tyres even more behind. Is this all we’re going to do the rest of the race?
55	To Kimi Raikkonen	Confirm, Kimi, confirm. Hamilton has backed off slightly for engine temperatures.
56	To Kimi Raikkonen	Massive pack of blues coming up.
57	To Lewis Hamilton	So we’ve been given five more laps. Front calipers reaching the limit.
57	From Lewis Hamilton	Don’t worry about it. You want me to let Valtteri back, yeah? I don’t need to bust my nut off any more?
57	To Lewis Hamilton	Negative, Lewis. Keep the pressure on the Ferraris if you can.
59	From Lewis Hamilton	My tyres are holding in. I’m just waiting for a mistake from then to get in front.
59	To Lewis Hamilton	Copy that Lewis, we hear you.
60	From Nico Hulkenberg	Did we get a puncture or what?
60	To Nico Hulkenberg	We still don’t see any puncture Nico. Not sure what happened there.
63	To Paul di Resta	OK Paul I’m afraid we’ve got a problem with the car, we’ll have to retire. So watch for Sainz.
63	From Paul di Resta	OK.
63	To Paul di Resta	Sorry mate that was a real shame. But I hope you enjoyed what you did do. It was fascinating to see what these tyres are like as well, good job.
64	To Max Verstappen	OK Max let’s push up to Bottas, mate.
66	To Lewis Hamilton	Verstappen is on a younger soft tyre. He will be a threat.
66	From Lewis Hamilton	At threat to us all, Bon?
66	To Lewis Hamilton	Yeah, affirm.
67	To Kimi Raikkonen	OK Kimi let’s not take anything for granted. We don’t know what Hamilton’s going to do. Just keep going as you are.
VL	To Sebastian Vettel	P1 Sebastian! One and two. Well managed. Nice drive.
VL	From Sebastian Vettel	Dai un’altra bandiera a Maranello. Vai! Grazie! Forza Ferrari. Grazie mille. Grazie ragazzi. Grande lavoro.
VL	To Fernando Alonso	OK Fernando that is the chequered flag. P6, fantastic drive. Deserved a lot more. Fantastic overtake on Sainz. Great pace at the end and fastest lap of the race. Great work.
VL	From Fernando Alonso	Thank you guys. So no one was fastest the last lap?
VL	To Fernando Alonso	No, you’re fastest lap of the race by 0.28 seconds to Raikkonen. Good job. Nice little present going into the shutdown.
VL	To Lewis Hamilton	OK mate thanks for that. It’s a gentlemanly thing to do. Well done.
VL	To Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes strategist James Vowles thanked both drivers after their podium. Lewis it’s James. Thank you very much for doing that mate. You did a really good race mate. Well done.
VL	From Valtteri Bottas	Thanks Lewis. Thanks again for that. Thanks for the trust.
VL	To Valtteri Bottas	Valtteri it’s James. Thank you very much for helping us. We appreciate it. Well done. Good podium.
VL	From Valtteri Bottas	We’ll get them in Spa.

Note: Only includes messages which were broadcast in the race coverage.
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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2017 Hungarian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine

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31 comments on “2017 Hungarian Grand Prix team radio transcript”

Kribana (@krichelle)
4th August 2017, 12:23

“I have nothing I can do”.- Raikkonen.
I understand that they do not speak english perfectly and the difficulty of speaking through the race but, if he means that overtaking is impossible, then that is no problem. However, if he meant that: I cannot do anything because I will destroy my tyres, China 2015 Rosberg, OR I cannot do anything because of he does not want to overtake Sebastian, then something fishy is going on with Kimi and Ferrari…
1. Robbie (@robbie)
  4th August 2017, 13:16
  
  There’s nothing fishy. SV earned his spot last weekend by getting poke and leading, and heads KR by a large number of points in the standings. There was no reason for Ferrari to have KR pass SV unless SV was struggling moreso than he was and they needed KR to keep the 25 points from LH. ‘Nothing I can do’ simply meant he wasn’t going to risk passing SV and at the same time he had Mercs on his butt.
  1. Robbie (@robbie)
    4th August 2017, 13:29
    
    Oops should be ‘getting pole’ …
    1. Ashwin (@redbullf1)
      4th August 2017, 15:11
      
      Lmao, I was laughing out of my seat with that ‘poke’ lol,
      
      Imagine Seb getting poked by his own racing winning finger …. hahaha
      1. Robbie (@robbie)
        4th August 2017, 16:25
        
        Lol
2. Neil (@neilosjames)
  4th August 2017, 14:27
  
  All the comms from Raikkonen and the responses suggest he was doing as the team wanted – parking up behind Vettel, not trying to attack. Not so much that he didn’t want to overtake, more that – I’d assume – he needed permission to have a go, but he didn’t have it… and the team weren’t giving it.
  
  So I’d be inclined to read “I have nothing I can do” as “There’s nothing I can do unless you let me”… a request for permission to attack. Or maybe, if he thought Vettel’s problem was more severe and he’d slow down even more, a request to be let by so at least one Ferrari would be safe from Mercedes.
Robbie (@robbie)
4th August 2017, 14:11

So upon hearing the ‘full’ radio comm’s there is still much missing with respect to the team decision to let LH pass VB. Seems to me LH never volunteered anything. We do know he confirms on lap 44 that he’d ‘have to let him back past’ and then on lap 57 it’s ‘you want me to let Valterri back yeah?’ Question mark. I think the only think LH volunteered was the information that he was being held up by VB. The rest was the team ordering VB to give it up for LH. He is the team’s number two. The re-inverting was just political correctness, and I suspect only because it was just 3 points under issue. A bit of respect for VB after being treated secondarily, although for sure VB understands and complies with what is going on. But if I’m VB aren’t I now thinking that all LH has to do is be quicker and as long as he is trailing and they are behind Ferrari he’ll get a free pass. It is only just circumstance that saw LH unable to pass KR. The plan was for him to leave VB in his dust with the team’s permission. I hope this all adds up to TW being uncomfortable with this 1 and 2 stuff and hires FA so that he puts both drivers back on the 1-2 positions to which the team had become accustomed.
1. SaraJ (@sjzelli)
  4th August 2017, 20:36
  
  Toto wants Vettel. A German and friend on his team. FA and his prissy-drama is the LAST person he’s going to consider
  1. Tim M (@tim-m)
    4th August 2017, 20:45
    
    So…by that logic, nationalism and friendship trumps results?
    1. SaraJ (@sjzelli)
      4th August 2017, 21:39
      
      It was an aside. Take what you want out of it, but don’t kid yourself – nationalistic pride influences everything directly or indirectly.
      1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
        5th August 2017, 0:18
        
        @sjzelli
        
        nationalistic pride influences everything directly or indirectly
        
        Perhaps for some people, but there are also many who don’t give a damn.
      2. SaraJ (@sjzelli)
        5th August 2017, 3:37
        
        Speaking as a supposedly impartial reporter Keith, I guess your right. But I can’t help but notice the pro-Hamilton spin here and there and there and here. And the some more here.
      3. Drg
        5th August 2017, 11:59
        
        @saraj
        
        Pro Hamilton bias?
        
        From Robbie?
        
        Funniest comment I have read for months…
      4. SaraJ (@sjzelli)
        6th August 2017, 6:33
        
        No Drg. I mean this forum of which Keith is overlord. Try to follow
      5. Drg
        8th August 2017, 9:30
        
        Oh I am following.
        
        I suggest you take your own bias up to the top of the thread you replied to…
    2. dex
      5th August 2017, 12:14
      
      no, with SV you get both nationalism and results.
    3. BobW
      7th August 2017, 17:03
      
      It’s more like the devil you know.
  2. Robbie (@robbie)
    4th August 2017, 22:01
    
    @sjzelli Not buying that. Vettel as far as we know seems content at Ferrari. Seems like he’s all but been announced as staying but of course that’s not been officially announced. And I don’t know what ‘prissy-drama’ you are talking about that would be so overwhelming as to overshadow what many consider to be the best talent on the grid. Why you are so convinced that it took a ‘LAST’ in capitals is beyond me. TW just came off NR/LH and 3 WDC’s and WCC’s in a row from that rivalry and as soon as SV thought he was brake tested by LH and whacked him in retaliation TW said the lovey dovey was bound to not last and now that the gloves are off it is better for F1. This is not someone that sits well with a #1 and #2 driver on his roster.
    
    Of course Vettel at Mercedes beside LH would be a blast to see too, but it is FA who really needs the ride. We all need him in a competitive car for some proper seasons out of him before he retires from F1. TW is about the only one in a position to help out in that regard. I still have not heard one good reason why TW shouldn’t take on FA, and I can think of all kinds of reasons why he should.
2. Kgn11
  5th August 2017, 4:27
  
  You still pushing this Alonso to Mercedes? Let it go, it’s not going to happen.
nase
4th August 2017, 14:16

While Ferrari were unwilling to let one car past the other, Renault had no hesitations about pulling a swap of their own to move Nico Hulkenberg ahead of Jolyon Palmer. Their message – “Nico’s quicker than you” – had more than a slight ring of one notorious past team radio message about it.

The thing is, Hülkenberg was indeed a lot faster than Palmer. After swapping places, he widened the gap to 6 seconds in as many laps, before catching Ocon, and the gap kept growing steadily whenever they were racing freely. Therefore, it was a logical choice for Renault to make. Palmer was clearly not in a position to menace the Force India drivers, but Hülkenberg was. They didn’t make them switch places because they thought one driver needed the points more than the other, but because one of their drivers was costing the the team a chance to score any points.
Other than the wording, there is absolutely nothing these two team radio calls have in common.
Ashwin (@redbullf1)
4th August 2017, 15:12

@keithcollantine

Maybe add the post race interview transcript, would be interesting stuff ! ;)
1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  4th August 2017, 20:34
  
  @redbullf1 Do you mean the press conference?
  1. Ashwin (@redbullf1)
    4th August 2017, 20:57
    
    @keithcollantine
    
    Sorry was kidding around, was referring to the exchange of words between Nico and Mag, haha
    1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      5th August 2017, 0:19
      
      @redbullf1 Ah sorry, just making sure I hadn’t missed anything!
Hollidog
4th August 2017, 15:16

Who is Vettels race engineer this year?
1. Ashwin (@redbullf1)
  4th August 2017, 21:00
  
  @hollidog
  Using my expert knowledge of Italian I was able to find that it is Riccardo Adami
  
  https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riccardo_Adami
  
  But I’m curious as to why you asked ?
  1. Hollidog
    5th August 2017, 7:53
    
    @redbullf1
    Thanks mate.
    
    In 2012 I went to the Australian GP, leaving my massive Vettel fan girlfriend at home. So to make up for it I bought her one of those teddy bears in race overalls and named him Rocky, after Sebs race engineer at the time.
    
    This year, I’m leaving her at home again to go to Monza (I’ve already taken her to Austria) and was planning on buying another bear. I’d looked around for ages to find the name of Sebs current race engineer.
    
    Perhaps not the answer you were expecting, but thank you all the same!
    1. Ashwin (@redbullf1)
      7th August 2017, 14:52
      
      Cool, true love !
dex
5th August 2017, 12:31

Hamilton is of course their number one driver, and why not? VB has been signed for one year, to keep him in line. The up side is he has won two races in the first half season, should be on for one or two more. All great for his CV, but don’t lets kid ourselves that he has equal number one status. He has not earned it! The team hired Hamilton to be the leader. He has 3 WDC, and more race wins, Poles and fastest laps than any other driver but M Schumacher.
Balue (@balue)
5th August 2017, 20:59

So there was no clear message to Hamilton to return the position to Bottas, only the 5 more laps. When that message was misunderstood and Hamilton asks if he must give the place back right away, the answer is actually: Negative.

There was no clarification as one would expect, it was just to keep pressuring the Ferrari. Then after that nothing. There’s no other message to say his 5 laps are up (that Hamilton obviously didn’t hear), time to give up the place or anything. Hamilton does it by himself on the last corner.

To me it’s telling. With the race long radio trouble and Hamilton misunderstanding, the team should have given a final instruction to make sure, but was not too bothered about this point. Just as they were not too bothered that any Ferrari mistake wouldn’t fall Bottas’ way. They can pretend there’s no number 1 and 2 driver, but no one is fooled.
1. aezy_doc
  7th August 2017, 10:04
  
  They don’t publish all radio communications. This is just a snap shot so we don’t have the full picture.