“Can you tell Esteban to let me by?”: US GP team radio highlights

2017 United States Grand Prix

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For the second race in a row Sergio Perez tried to get Force India to impose team orders on Esteban Ocon, without success.

Here are the team radio highlights from the United States Grand Prix.

There was no repeat of Ferrari’s pre-race problems from Japan.

2017 United States GP in pictures
“Any car issues?”
Vettel: “No car issues.”

Hartley: “Can you give me an update on the exact wind direction?”
“Tail wind into turn one.”

Hamilton: “Pace feels pretty good.”
“OK copy.”

Grosjean: “Mate Kvyat is moving all over the place. Left, right, right left.”
“Understood.”

A frustrating weekend for Nico Hulkenberg came to an early end.

“Scenario 12, we need to box.”
Hulkenberg: “Oh, come on man.”
“We’re retiring the car, Nico.”

Wehrlein: “Someone crashed completely into me.”
“Understood. Feedback on damage”
Wehrlein: “Yeah the car is not driving well.”

“Front-right puncture. Box Kevin, please confirm.”
Magnussen: “OK.”

“How are the tyres?”
Ricciardo: “Fronts are pretty [censored by FOM].”

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Vettel: “I’ve got blistering on the front-left.”

“Think about your speed through turn six to make sure you’re quick enough for seven, eight, nine.”
Verstappen: “Yeah, I don’t want to damage the tyres.”

Kimi Raikkonen complained about Daniel Ricciardo’s defending.

Raikkonen: “Just drive into me but I guess that’s [censored by FOM] OK.”

To Alonso: “100% pace.”

Ricciardo: “Engine’s gone.”
“OK understood. Pull over somewhere safe.”

Verstappen: “What happened to Daniel?”
“He has stopped.”
Hamilton: “Tyres are good. I can extend this stint.”

Alonso: “It’d be nice to know what strategy we’re doing.”
“We are plan B. Perez +2.4. Ocon and Stoffel in front. This is our chance on Ocon.”

Lewis Hamilton was surprised to find Vettel close behind him after his pit stop.

Hamilton: “A little bit close, guys. Why’d it get so close?”

“Read the temps on the dash.”
Vettel: “Too far, sorry, too far.”

Alonso: “I think I have an engine issue.”
“Back off please.”
Alonso: “I can’t believe it. Another six, eight points.”
“Yes mate I know. Back off and we will retire the car.”

Stroll: “I mean it’s unbelievable how bad the traction is.”

Perez got stuck behind Ocon but not for long – Carlos Sainz Jnr soon split the pair of them.

Perez: “We need Esteban to pick up the pace. I’m much faster.”
“Understood.”
Perez: “Sainz is coming. I have a lot more pace than this. Can you tell Esteban to let me by?”
“Checo we need more management. Esteban is doing the management.”

To Sainz: “Brilliant job.”

Vettel switched to a two-stop strategy but it was to no avail.

Vettel: “Plan B?”
“Understood, we are thinking.”
Vettel: “I’m not saying do it right away.”

Hamilton: “Tyres are still good.”

“Grosjean: “Front-left, there is no more rubber.”
“OK, understood.”

Magnussen: “I don’t think I’m going to be able to do the last six laps on these tyres, guys.”

To Raikkonen: “Seb is now the car behind.”

There was a terse exchange at Haas in the final laps as Grosjean lobbied the team to retire his car.

Grosjean: “Mate what was that? Seriously. I don’t know if I… I think we should retire the car. I think we should retire the car, no point in going to the end. I can see the whole [censored by FOM] left tyre. What are we doing, guys? Seriously.”
“Shut up.”
Grosjean: “You’re not paying your life here. The tyre is completely gone. ”
“OK dude so we’ll box to retire the car, retire the car. Box now. It’s the last lap anyway, man, but just bring it in easy.”
Grosjean: “I can go the chequered flag if you want, but…”
“Yeah we’ll just take the chequer.”
Grosjean: “OK.”

Hamilton’s win means he is virtually guaranteed the 2017 championship. Raikkonen was passed by Max Verstappen on the final lap but was given his place on the podium back after a penalty.

Poll: Did Verstappen deserve a penalty?
“Get in there Lewis!”
Hamilton: “Great job guys. Ah that was so much fun today.”
“Mercedes world champions!”

Raikkonen: “[Censored by FOM]. Sorry guys. [Censored by FOM]. [Censored by FOM].”

“Come on, Danny! P10! One point in the bag. Well done.”
Kvyat: “Thanks mate.”
“You made it, well done, awesome drive on this stint, not easy at all.”
Kvyat: “Grazie Marco, been a while. Good race so thank you.”
“Welcome back mate, well done, I’m proud of you.”

“Very good job Brendon. The pace was pretty good at the end. Shame about Stroll at the beginning. Verty good job today, strong race.”
Hartley: “Yeah thanks a lot guys, awesome. Yeah I mean we lost a lot of time behind Stroll, but mate I’m smiling. Amazing feeling to complete my debut so thanks a lot guys.”
“Yeah you’ve done well, very strong race again. And the pace was not bad at all.”
Hartley: “Yeah I lost so much behind Stroll in that middle section buddy. But anyway, cheers.”

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

2017 United States 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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19 comments on ““Can you tell Esteban to let me by?”: US GP team radio highlights”

  1. Quote of the day

    Raikkonen: “[Censored by FOM]. Sorry guys. [Censored by FOM]. [Censored by FOM].”

    1. As Noble2909 would say, LEL

  2. frank rietdijk
    24th October 2017, 9:31

    If it takes 2 day’s and still there is no full transcript, it must be rigged.

  3. Well, I guess at least someone at Torro Rosso will be sorry to see Kvyat go again then.

  4. Perez is really getting worse. Second time he ask the same stupidity at a time and in positions where is make no sense at all. Just playing vicious politics and mind games… well i suppose this time ocon teach him a lesson

    1. Shot himself in the foot in Canada by giving it the whole let us race man. Now the shoe is on the other foot and that stubbornness is his undoing.

    2. That’s Perez; it is who he is. Please, please, please never let him in a Ferrari.

  5. This fuller detail of the Grosjean radio exchange seems to suggest a complete lack of respect towards Romain. Sounds as if they are pretty fed up with him, but it doesn’t seem very professional to me, after all, they must know there’s a chance it will be public.

    1. @baron I think this exchange took place precisely because the radio is public. From a reply I gave in another thread:

      He was asking to retire the car on the final lap while it was still in working order. If i’m not mistaken that is against the rules? (remember the furore when Fernando did it?)

      So it’s probably more like a “shut up man, this radio is public we’re gonna get in trouble” rather than “shut up i hate you” kinda thing.

      1. @offdutyrockstar, Yeah, good point there… I wasn’t aware there was a rule against retiring a car if there was no issue with it. To be honest though, if the car was driveable and you had just hauled it through 99% of the race, why on earth would you not want to take the chequer? Romain’s thinking is a bit off too here it seems.

        1. Maybe someone can clarify whether it’s a rule or maybe something worthy of a reprimand or fine, but I remember Alonso having to make a statement that his engine was indeed gone amid speculation that he retired out of frustration in Bahrain.

          And yeh fully agree, all those laps and wanting to retire instead of cross the finish line I do not understand the thinking either.

    2. Funny it is not lack of respect when it’s the other way (driver to pit) who hush the radio.

      Nah, I think the Team is fed up with him. During the weekend Romain drove with a sticker on his helmet that said “I am not moaning” , clearly there is already an issue in the Team about it.

      Romain moans all the time. Always cries over the radio, blames others for his mistakes. I remember the same was said of Bourdais when he drove for Toro Rosso… Ocon cried all over the web that another driver tried to kill him… twice! …….maybe it is just coincidence, or maybe is the drinking water in that part of the world.

  6. Thing with Checo is : Sainz overtook him yet couldn’t overtake Ocon.

    Checo is not the sharpest tool in the box. He makes himself look a bit dim.

    1. I agree. He should especially be smart enough to realize that after his “let us race, man” comment in Canada, asking the team to facilitate a team order on his behalf makes him look like a massive hypocrite & a bit of a crybaby. It’s not even that Ocon making Perez look like an idiot (as good as he’s driving), Perez is doing it all on his own. He acted pretty much the same @ McLaren & I’m convinced that’s the main reason they never gave him another shot. His stock value as a driver will fall because of it, IMO.

      1. You guys are trying to explain fairness to a selfish person. It does not work! Same with trying to shame a shameless person.

    2. You do realize that he did not pass Ocon because he was respecting team orders and that by driving behind his slower teammate, he killed his tires, right? Nothing wrong with asking to get by. He may have been able to pull away and have both SFI cars ahead of Sainz. Yes, he should have let Ocon pass by in Canada, but that’s also on the team.

      1. Stop the fantasy this is completely untrue. Ocon was right behind Massa so if Perez was supposedly killing his tyre it would be true for Ocon too. In adition Ocon was driving at the pace asked by FI…. all Perez had to do was to chill 2s behind. Instead he decided to play the mind game and was rewarded by losing 1 place. As soon as Ocon and Sainz start fighting for positions Perez was nowhere to be seen again.

  7. Perez wan’t faster than Ocon at all. He is getting desperate.

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