“What a bunch of idiots”: 2017 Malaysian GP team radio highlights

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix

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A furious Sebastian Vettel lashed out on the radio after colliding with Lance Stroll after the end of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Here’s what the drivers had to say on the radios during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Kimi Raikkonen had qualified on the front row but he wasn’t even able to start the race after another power unit problem.

2017 Malaysian GP in pictures
Raikkonen: “I have no power.”
“Understood Kimi can you get around to the grid, we’ll try to fix the issue on the grid.”

Sainz: “I can see some clouds coming at turn 11.”

Soon after the start Max Verstappen closed on Lewis Hamilton and passed him for the lead of the race.

Grosjean: “The Toro Rosso’s moving all over the [censored by FOM] place.”
“Understood”
Grosjean: “Those new guys need to learn they can’t move like this.”

Hamilton: “I’ve got de-rates.”

Verstappen: “That’s how we do it.”
“Well done mate.”

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To Gasly: “Good job. Focus on rear slip management.”

Hulkenberg: “I’ve lost power. Got a ‘cool the car’ message.”

To Ricciardo: “Last lap you took one second out of Hamilton. Nice job.”

Vettel had started from last on the grid but Mercedes weren’t taking anything for granted.

To Hamilton: “Vettel in P9, 22 seconds behind. Just remember he may be a threat towards the end of the race.”

To Perez: “If understeer five and six is a problem you could try open diff.”

To Vandoorne: “That’s a Sauber in front let’s go straight through him.”

Perez: “Tyres is good, no rush to pit.”
“Understood, Vettel behind.”

To Ocon: “When you come up to Sainz use both straights to go by. Use the first straight to catch him up, use the second to go by.”

To Sainz: “Keep pushing Carlos. You are doing a fantastic job. You are catching Fernando in front.”

“Feedback on the tyres, let us know your tag level.”
Hamilton: “Tag three, tyres are OK.”

Verstappen: “Front left is a bit dated.”
“Front-left tyre is a bit limited. Understand the balance issue but no problem at this stage.”

Fernando Alonso was unimpressed by Kevin Magnussen, who squeezed him hard as the McLaren driver went past. But Vettel wasn’t too happy with Alonso after the McLaren driver held him up. And Magnussen was frustrated with Jolyon Palmer, who spun into the side of him.

Palmer’s spin delayed Magnussen
Alonso: “What an idiot! Hulkenberg is right…”

To Gasly: “Stop lifting off, maximum attack on Magnussen.”

Magnussen: “What a [censored by FOM] lunatic.”
“Everything OK with the car?”
Magnussen: “Yeah.”

Vettel: “Hey what a… Come on, Alonso. Really? I thought you were better than that.”

Gasly: “I’m struggling with the rear.”
“Other people are struggling more than us. Good job keep pushing.”

To Ricciardo: “I think you’ve broken Vettel’s spirit.”

To Vettel: “Engine temps fine, attack now.”

Verstappen took the win but Vettel let rip after tangling with Stroll.

Verstappen clinched his second win.
“Well done Max.”
Verstappen: “Yes! Woo! Hahaha!”
“Well done Max, well done mate. That was absolutely on merit. Flawless drive. And happy birthday, mate.”
“Super job Max that’s a really great job. Welcome to being a 20-year-old. Great start to a new decade for you, well done.”
Verstappen: Thank you very much Christian, car was great.

Vettel: “…is that possible? Stroll is not looking where he’s going. He completely shunted into my car. I mean seriously.”

Stroll: “Vettel just ran right into the side of me.”

Vettel: “What a bunch of idiots. Would you believe it, would you believe it?”
“Yeah we can see it, we can see it Seb.”
Vettel: “Unbelievable.”
“Yeah we can see it Seb yeah.”
Vettel: “What a [censored by FOM]. Sorry for that but he had no, he wasn’t looking. [Censored by FOM] me.”

The full race radio transcript will be published later this week.

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix

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

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26 comments on ““What a bunch of idiots”: 2017 Malaysian GP team radio highlights”

  1. To Vettel: “Engine temps fine, attack now.”

    The first time they called for a attack it was serious. The second time you could hear the disappointment and lack of commitment.

  2. Has anyone given any explanation on why Vettel left the car with no steering wheel? I though they were obliged to put it back on. He seemed to hesitate for a moment and then took the wheel with him.

    1. The car was missing one of the wheels. Seems like a missing steering wheel was les important than a missing wheel.

    2. Aren’t drivers weighted with the steering wheel after the race?

      1. Crash helmet and gloves, no wheel.

      2. No, crash helmet and HANS.

      3. The steering wheel is left in the car to steer the car onto the scale for weighing.

        1. The rules say: “Any competitor failing to meet the minimum weight may lose their qualifying times or be excluded from the race results unless this is due to the accidental loss of part of the car.” I bet the Ferrari wasn’t weighted after the crash.

          Also, the rules say: “22. General Safety. 22.5 A driver who abandons a car must leave […] the steering wheel in place”. So the steering wheel in the car is a Safety issue.

      4. no, they have to leave the wheel on so that the cars can be moved and steered by the marshals.

        I do not know why he took it with him this time, maybe because the race was over and there was no time issue to get the car off the track.

      5. they are weighted with their balls, but vettel left them somewhere in the track, so he took the wheel instead :)

    3. @fer-no65 They are required to put the wheel back on in a race situation so the car can be pushed out of the way if possible or necessary. That’s not the case when the race has finished – presumably they’ll just pulled up a flatbed and craned it up, so no need for a steering wheel. There’s a lot of sensitive stuff on the steering wheels.

      1. @keithcollantine, especially since, only a few years ago, Force India had one of their steering wheels stolen during the Italian GP (and I don’t think that it has ever been recovered).

        1. That makes sense, @anon!

    4. @fer-no65

      In some interview he said, for whatever reason he could not get the steering wheel back on, so he first thought of leaving it in the seat, but then he thought that maybe fans might come on track or something and the steering wheel would be the only lose bit, quickly to be snatched. So he thought it would be better to take it with him… That is all..

      1. @skylien thank you! that’s a good explanation. I wasn’t pointing my finger anyway, I was just curious.

  3. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    2nd October 2017, 17:39

    Vettel: “What a bunch of idiots. Would you believe it, would you believe it?”
    “Yeah we can see it, we can see it Seb.”
    Vettel: “Unbelievable.”
    “Yeah we can see it Seb yeah.”
    Vettel: “What a [censored by FOM]. Sorry for that but he had no, he wasn’t looking. [Censored by FOM] me.”

    When you hit someone on the victory lap, he will be very angry.

  4. What a bunch of angry team radios we have this year.

    1. i find all the swearing a bit tedious to be honest. i mean, i did find it quite funny and i’m not exactly offended by it (‘the thick of it’ is probably my favourite tv show…) but it’s starting to make them sound stupid and whiny. there are better ways of expressing yourself, especially for intelligent guys like vettel. magnussen just seems rather unlikeable when he’s mouthing off.

      for some reason i don’t find alonso quite so annoying, but then he usually says something slightly more interesting.

  5. I particularly enjoyed the comment from Ocon’s engineer asking if Sainz hit him. “for sure” “well then you’ve got to tell us about it, get on the radio and tell us!”

  6. Assuming Vettel includes himself in that assessment, seems legit to me.

  7. I would pay cash to have a GP commentated by Alonso from his cockpit during the race.

    Anything would be better than hearing Brundle retelling the same tired stories for the millionth time.

  8. Loving the frustration in Vettel’s radio rants… it’s a heck of a lot better than his musical rendition of “Yes yes yes yes yes yes …”

    1. Almost as good as Mclaren’s “we need to retire the car.”

      Always puts a smile on my face for some reason. Like Karma.

  9. Normally think that Vettel is a whiny so-and-so, but on Alonso he was absolutely right. Alonso did it absolutely on purpose, should have been punished. Petty to the max, pretty sad really.

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