Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Singapore, 2019

Vettel vs Leclerc: Complete Ferrari Singapore team radio transcript

2019 Singapore Grand Prix

25th September 2019, 13:177th May 2024, 22:27 | Written by Keith Collantine

How did Ferrari end up handing victory in the Singapore Grand Prix from one driver to another?

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Was Charles Leclerc given the chance to win the race? How did the team react when he asked them if it was their plan to leave Sebastian Vettel ahead?

Many RaceFans readers have asked in the comments and via social media to see more of what went on in the team’s radio discussions during the race. So by popular demand, here’s the full transcript of the radio communications to both drivers from lights out until the cars were back in parc ferme.

The race began with Leclerc leading Lewis Hamilton and Vettel from pole position. As Leclerc explained afterwards, Ferrari’s tactics at this stage were to run a deliberately slow pace. This kept the field bunched up tightly behind them, leaving no gaps for their rivals to make a pit stop, come out in clear air, and use their fresher tyres to ‘undercut’ the Ferraris.

Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
1	To Vettel:	K2 off
1	To Leclerc:	Gap to Hamilton behind 1.4.
1	To Vettel:	You are OK to attack again, higher SOC position
1	Vettel:	What was that?
1	To Vettel:	You are OK to attack again, higher SOC position
1	To Vettel:	Push the red button once.
2	To Leclerc:	Gap to Hamilton behind 1.2.
2	To Vettel:	Do not touch the oil button. Oil fine for now.
3	To Leclerc:	DRS enabled
3	To Leclerc:	Gap to Hamilton behind 1.5.
3	Leclerc:	Yeah, let me know
3	To Vettel:	DRS is enabled. Verstappen 0.9 behind, one second behind.
3	To Leclerc:	Gap to Hamilton behind 1.3.
3	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind 1.1 seconds.
3	To Vettel:	Verstappen one second behind. Current lap time 48.5
4	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind at 1.4.
4	Leclerc:	Is pace OK like this?
4	To Leclerc:	Target 49.5
4	To Leclerc:	Hamilton with DRS.
4	To Vettel:	Verstappen one second behind. Target lap time 49.5
5	To Leclerc:	Hamilton with DRS.
5	To Vettel:	Verstappen 1.1 behind. Current lap time 49.4.
5	To Vettel:	Verstappen 1.3 behind, no DRS.
5	To Leclerc:	K1 plus available if you need it. Hamilton with DRS.
6	To Leclerc:	Hamilton with DRS.
6	To Leclerc:	Hamilton with DRS again.
6	To Vettel:	Verstappen (unclear) lap time 49.3.
6	To Leclerc:	And this pace is good. Hamilton behind at 1.1.
7	To Vettel:	Verstappen one second behind. Charles lap time (unclear).
7	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind with DRS.
7	To Leclerc:	Hamilton with DRS.
8	To Leclerc:	Hamilton with DRS.
8	To Vettel:	Verstappen 1.1 behind with DRS. Charles 49.2.
9	To Leclerc:	Hamilton with DRS.
9	To Leclerc:	Hamilton with DRS. Tyre phase update when you can.
10	To Vettel:	Verstappen 0.8 behind, Charles lap time 9.7. Update your tyre switch when you can.

As the pit stops drew nearer, Ferrari began to reduce the lap time target. However they did so very slowly: The 1’48.5 target Leclerc was given on lap 15 was still over a second slower than Nico Hulkenberg had gone on lap four.

Leclerc initially lapped slightly quicker than that target, then backed off. His average lap time between the instruction and his pit stop was 1’48.7.

However the team was still biding its time. By this stage a gap had opened up behind Leclerc which Ferrari could have brought him into, as they confirmed on lap 16, but for now they left him out.

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Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
10	To Leclerc:	Target lap time 49.0
10	Leclerc:	49 point two?
10	To Leclerc:	Point zero, point zero.
11	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind at 1.6.
12	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind at 1.6.
12	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind at two seconds.
12	To Leclerc:	And FS4 when you can.
13	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind at 1.3.
13	To Vettel:	Break-up in the onboard video means some preceding messages from Vettel may have been missed. Verstappen 1.1 behind. Last lap time 49.4. multi-function minus two clicks.
13	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind at 1.4.
13	Leclerc:	Let me know about the gap.
13	To Leclerc:	Copy.
14	To Vettel:	Verstappen 1.2 behind.
14	To Leclerc:	And Hamilton with DRS. Pit stop gap 11 seconds.
14	Vettel:	Are the gaps after P6 opening or not?
14	To Vettel:	Not opening yet. Charles will start pushing soon.
14	To Leclerc:	Hamilton with DRS.
15	To Leclerc:	Leclerc did a 1’48.3, then a 1’47.8. Having gone under target he then backed off to a 1’49.1 and 1’49.6. And back to mode race. Target lap time: 48.5.
15	To Leclerc:	And Hamilton with DRS.
15	To Vettel:	Update your tyre switch.
15	To Leclerc:	And front wing update when you can.
15	Leclerc:	Minus two.
16	To Vettel:	This refers to the lap before Leclerc’s instruction to do a 1’48.5. Charles lap 8.7
16	To Leclerc:	Pit stop gap 15 seconds.
16	Leclerc:	I can pit?
16	To Leclerc:	Yes you can.
16	To Leclerc:	Gap to Hamilton behind 1.8.
17	To Leclerc:	Gap to Hamilton behind two seconds.

Ferrari made the call to bring Vettel in on lap 19. They gave him the instruction at the last possible moment – turn 20, shortly before the pit entry – to guard against Hamilton ahead of him reacting by pitting.

Vettel’s pit stop was surely motivated by the fact Max Verstappen behind him had dropped back slightly, and the expectation Red Bull would pit him into the gap which had opened up. However with Leclerc still managing the pace at the front, that meant the fresh-tyre pace Vettel had on his out-lap allowed him to ‘undercut’ his team mate.

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Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
17	To Vettel:	Charles lap time 8.3. Update tyre switch.
17	To Vettel:	Verstappen 1.2 behind.
17	To Leclerc:	Gap to Hamilton behind 1.7.
18	To Leclerc:	Gap to Hamilton behind 1.5.
18	To Vettel:	Copy tyre phase. Charles lap time 7.8
18	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind 1.7.
18	To Vettel:	Verstappen 1.5 behind.
18	To Leclerc:	Hamilton 1.4
18	To Vettel:	Verstappen two seconds behind, struggling, update on front wing when you can.
18	Vettel:	Go down on front wing.
18	To Vettel:	OK.
18	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind at 1.1.
19	To Leclerc:	Pit stop gap 18 seconds.
19	Vettel:	Go down three clicks.
19	To Vettel:	Copy that.
19	To Vettel:	Charles lap time 9.0
19	To Leclerc:	Hamilton behind at 1.2. Hamilton with DRS.
19	To Vettel:	Turn 20 Box Sebastian, box now.
19	To Leclerc:	Vettel pits And Hamilton with DRS. K1 plus available if you need it.
20	To Leclerc:	Hamilton with DRS.
20	To Vettel:	In pits Mode box, mode box.
20	To Vettel:	On the white line, racing Hulkenberg.
20	To Vettel:	Push on the out lap. You are in free air.

Leclerc wasn’t even sure he was supposed to pit when Ferrari brought him in on the next lap. His pit stop forced Hamilton to stay out, hoping in vain he might get lucky with a Safety Car.

After Leclerc rejoined and discovered Vettel was in front of him, he asked the team whether they intended to leave the cars in that order. In Hungary Vettel had jumped ahead of Leclerc via the ‘undercut’ in much the same way, but Ferrari told him to let his team mate by again. This did not happen in Singapore.

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Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
20	To Leclerc:	Turn 13 And mode box. Hamilton with DRS.
20	To Vettel:	You are racing Hamilton, and push.
20	Leclerc:	Box this lap or not?
20	To Leclerc:	Box now, box. Box now, box.
20	To Leclerc:	K2 on.
21	To Leclerc:	And reset brake balance, reset diff. Will be close on Sebastian on exit.
21	To Vettel:	SOC 2.
21	Vettel:	We cleared him already did we?
21	To Vettel:	Not yet. Push. Half a second.
21	To Leclerc:	Leclerc rejoins the track behind Vettel. And K2 off, K2 off.
21	To Vettel:	SOC 2 and push.
21	To Leclerc:	We need to push as much as you can.
21	Leclerc:	Yeah but what the hell? I mean…
21	To Leclerc:	We are tight with Hamilton.
21	To Vettel:	Hamilton didn’t come in. 47.0 his lap time.
21	To Leclerc:	Hamilton did not pit yet.
22	To Vettel:	We are one second ahead, one second ahead.
22	Leclerc:	Is it the plan that it stays like this or what?
22	To Leclerc:	We’ll come back to you.
22	To Leclerc:	So we need to wait until Hamilton done the pit stop.
22	Leclerc:	OK but if I need to push more then I can, just so you know.
22	To Leclerc:	Copy, understood.

Stuck behind his team mate, Leclerc pointed out that his tyres were suffering. At this point the team’s sporting director Laurent Mekies entered the radio discussion, telling Leclerc “it’s all good”.

This created an degree of confusion on the pit wall – at one point Leclerc had two people taking to him at once:

Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
22	To Vettel:	You are two seconds ahead.
23	To Vettel:	Hamilton lap time 7.3.
23	To Leclerc:	Hamilton did not pit yet. Hamilton did not pit.
23	Leclerc:	What [unclear]?
23	Leclerc:	Destroying my tyres.
23	To Vettel:	Hamilton lap time 7.9.
23	To Leclerc:	Laurent Mekies Charles it’s Laurent, take care of your tyres, the race is long, it’s all good.
24	To Leclerc:	I continue, I continue.
24	To Leclerc:	Two people spoke to Leclerc at once At the moment we are ahead of Hamilton/The race is long, Charles, It’s all good.
24	Leclerc:	(Unclear, complaining that two people are talking to him)
24	To Vettel:	Hamilton lap time 8.5, 48.5.
25	Leclerc:	(Unclear) …I’ll let you know.
25	To Vettel:	Racing Stroll in front.
25	Leclerc:	I’m destroying my tyres. Not even sure if I can finish the race like this.
25	To Leclerc:	Copy, understood. You need to save your tyres for the end of the race.

Hamilton made his pit stop and came out well behind the Ferraris and Verstappen. Vettel and Leclerc made their way past a few midfielders who hadn’t pitted, and were now leading the field.

Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
25	To Vettel:	You are six seconds safe to Hamilton. And save your tyres.
25	To Vettel:	Hamilton lap time 39.1.
25	To Vettel:	SOC 6, oil 7 to attack Stroll.
25	To Vettel:	Hamilton reported that his tyre are falling to bits.
26	To Leclerc:	Hamilton needs to pit. Hamilton still needs to pit.
26	To Leclerc:	Verstappen behind at one second.
26	To Vettel:	Hamilton is coming in. Not critical any more to overtake Stroll. I leave it to you.
27	To Leclerc:	Hamilton just pitted now. And will be six seconds behind.
27	To Vettel:	Vettel passes Stroll. Well done Seb. Now breathe for brakes. Next will be Ricciardo, two seconds in front.
27	To Vettel:	Tyres are stable. Sliding speeds are under control.
27	To Leclerc:	Stroll in front did not stop yet. You are racing Stroll. Used tyres.
28	To Vettel:	BB plus one for brake temps.
28	To Vettel:	Charles is still behind Stroll. Manage your brakes.
29	To Leclerc:	Now next car in front is Ricciardo, he still needs to box, he needs to pit now.
29	To Vettel:	Try to take more care of the rears on 13, one-three, and exit of three. Look after rear slips turn 13, one-three, and three.
30	To Leclerc:	And manage your brakes
30	To Vettel:	Brake balance minus one click.
30	To Vettel:	Giovinazzi next. Giovinazzi lap time 8.7, 48.7.
31	To Leclerc:	And we need to manage brakes when you can.
31	To Vettel:	We are in free air now. No one in front.
31	To Leclerc:	So you are racing Gasly in front, he still needs to pit.
31	To Vettel:	Reset your tyre phase, Save your tyres.
31	Vettel:	Which tyre was the limitation, stint before?
31	To Vettel:	Was the rear-right.
32	To Vettel:	SOC 6.
32	To Vettel:	Hamilton lap time 48.8, he’s out on hard.
32	To Leclerc:	Now racing Giovinazzi in front, he still needs to pit.
32	To Vettel:	Focus on 13, where you are, in exit, for slips. And also turn three again.
33	To Vettel:	Multi-function plus three clicks.
33	To Leclerc:	And now Sebastian in front is at 6.6 and his lap time is 46.9.
33	To Vettel:	Charles is 6.5 behind.
33	To Leclerc:	And we need engine two, engine two. Think about tyres for the end of the race.
34	To Vettel:	And engine two. Charles lap time 6.6.
34	To Leclerc:	Press oil button when you can, press oil button.

A collision between Romain Grosjean and George Russell left the Williams in the wall. A Safety Car could only hurt Vettel’s race at this point, and he made it clear he didn’t think one was necessary. Race control disagreed, however.

Another disagreement was going on in his team mate’s car, as Leclerc continued to make his feelings known about the team’s tactics:

Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
34	To Leclerc:	Sebastian lap time: 46.0.
35	To Vettel:	Charles lap time 5.2, Verstappen lap time 5.9, he is three seconds behind Charles, and Hamilton six seconds behind Verstappen.
35	To Leclerc:	And think about tyres for the end of the race. Places to save: turn three and 21.
36	To Leclerc:	And think about tyres for the end of the race.
36	To Vettel:	Grosjean and Russell collide, leaving Russell’s car in the barrier at turn eight. Double yellow turn eight. Could be a Safety Car. Exit in turn eight someone in the barrier.
36	Vettel:	Ah it’s fine, we don’t need a Safety Car there.
36	To Vettel:	Copy. No need of Safety Car.
36	To Leclerc:	There will be a yellow turn seven. Double yellow turn eight. Debris at the left-hand side.
36	To Vettel:	Safety Car, stay out. Charles…
36	Vettel:	Where do we come out if we pit?
36	To Vettel:	Lose four positions. Stay out.
36	To Leclerc:	Safety Car deployed.
36	Leclerc:	Do you think we can box?
36	To Leclerc:	Stay positive. Staying out. Slow button on.
36	To Vettel:	And engine one, pre-select.
36	To Leclerc:	You can press engine one and work on the tyres.
37	To Vettel:	Try to work on your tyres to keep them in temperature, especially the fronts.
37	To Vettel:	Verstappen and Hamilton stayed out.
37	To Leclerc:	Everyone stayed out.
37	To Vettel:	Hamilton lap time was a 45.4, he’s on hards.
37	Leclerc:	To be completely honest with you I don’t understand at all the undercut. But whatsoever I will discuss after the race. Anyway.
37	To Leclerc:	Laurent Mekies Charles it was the best thing we could do. Head down, the race is long. Let’s concentrate on Safety Car. You are doing a super job. Watch your tyres and head down.
37	Leclerc:	Yeah my head is down and it will be down until the race. But I just want to let you know my feeling.
37	To Leclerc:	Laurent Mekies Yeah it’s all good, Charles. You will understand after the race.
37	Leclerc:	Then we can fight, right?
37	To Leclerc:	Pause Don’t risk anything. You can attack, but don’t risk anything.
37	Leclerc:	Copy.
37	To Vettel:	Multi-function mix position 11.
37	To Vettel:	We will be racing Charles at the restart. Give each other space, don’t take any risks. I have a RB multi-function by RB position change for you. Position five.
38	To Leclerc:	You need to work more on the tyres to have them ready.
38	To Vettel:	Antonio Giovinazzi was peanlised for driving too close to the crane. There’s a crane at turn eight, be careful, stay to the right at turn eight.
38	To Leclerc:	There is a crane at turn eight. Watch for the crane at turn eight. Stay to the right. There is a crane there.
38	To Leclerc:	And try to heat up your rear brakes with brake balance.
38	To Vettel:	Try to work more on your tyres.
39	To Leclerc:	We need multi-function position mix 10. You are doing a good job with the tyres.
39	To Vettel:	Work more on your tyres.

Ferrari were clearly concerned Leclerc might do something rash when the race restarted and he had the opportunity to attack his team mate:

Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
39	To Vettel:	Lapped cars may now overtake, will be only Sainz from behind.
39	To Leclerc:	Lapped car may overtake now, will be Sainz.
39	To Vettel:	Sainz at turn 13.
39	To Vettel:	Sainz behind you, watch your mirrors, let him by. Keep working on your tyres.
39	To Leclerc:	Sainz is coming now, he may overtake. And try to work on the front tyres. You can reset your brake balance.
40	To Leclerc:	Suggestion SOC 7. Safety Car in the lap. And K2 on.
40	To Leclerc:	Laurent Mekies OK Charles we are P1 and P2. You have Verstappen and Hamilton behind. No risk at all, please.
40	To Leclerc:	Keep working on your tyres, mainly the fronts. Safety Car in this lap, we’ll need K2 on. Remember brake balance.
40	To Vettel:	22 laps to go. Safety Car in this lap. We need K2 on.
40	To Vettel:	Keep working on your tyres.
41	To Vettel:	K2 on for the start.
41	To Leclerc:	The race restarts. K2 off
41	To Vettel:	Charles is one second behind.
43	To Vettel:	There’s 19 laps to go, and manage your tyres to the end.
44	To Leclerc:	Yellow at turn 13.
44	To Leclerc:	Yellow at turn 13.
44	To Vettel:	Hamilton lap time 46.5 and Verstappen 45.8.
44	To Leclerc:	Be careful there’s a guy working on the road. Safety Car deployed. Slow button on.
44	To Leclerc:	Stay out, work on your tyres.
44	To Vettel:	Yellow flag turn 13, car stopped there in exit. Safety Car, stay out. Charge button on.
44	To Leclerc:	And we need secondary RB position five.
45	To Vettel:	Tyres (unclear)
45	To Vettel:	Stay positive. Staying out. Slow button on.

Leclerc was reminded again to take care if he went after Vettel:

Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
45	To Leclerc:	There’s a crane on track at turn 14.
45	To Leclerc:	You can preselect mode FW. There is a crane at turn 14.
45	To Vettel:	Multi B white RB position seven. Crane out of 14.
45	To Leclerc:	And for the restart we do SOC 7 again. That will help.
45	Leclerc:	For now I have SOC 6.
45	To Leclerc:	Copy.
45	Leclerc:	I want everything. Even engine mode.
45	To Leclerc:	Laurent Mekies Charles we need to bring the car home. We need to manage the PU and bring the car home.
45	Leclerc:	Yeah, yeah, no problem.
45	Leclerc:	I won’t do anything stupid. It’s not my goal. I want us to finish one-two. I just think it’s not fair. But this won’t change. I won’t be stupid.
46	To Vettel:	You can go to mode FW.
46	To Leclerc:	Need to heat up the brakes.
46	To Leclerc:	And try to work on the front tyres.
46	To Vettel:	Push the red button.
47	To Vettel:	You are doing a good job with tyres now, better than before, good job.
47	To Leclerc:	Safety Car in this lap. Try to do some full throttle at the end. We know it’s difficult but try to do it. And we need secondary RB position one.
47	To Leclerc:	Try to work on the front tyres.
47	To Vettel:	Safety Car in this lap, reset your multi positions.
47	Vettel:	Copy.
47	To Vettel:	And we’ll be K2 on.
47	To Vettel:	Try to clean it out of nine and 13.
47	To Vettel:	Think about your brake balance settings for the start.
48	To Vettel:	Reminder K2 on.
48	To Leclerc:	The race restarts again. K2 off.

The Safety Car came out again. Leclerc was briefly concerned they might not hit the lap time delta because of how much Vettel had backed off.

Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
49	To Leclerc:	K1 plus available.
49	To Vettel:	Multi-function BO position nine, Charles 1.3 behind.
50	To Leclerc:	12 laps to go. And DRS enabled.
50	To Leclerc:	K1 plus available.
50	To Leclerc:	Safety Car deployed. Stay positive. Slow button on. Stay positive. Staying out, staying out.
50	Leclerc:	We are way over the target. Can Seb go?
50	To Leclerc:	We’ll come back to you.
50	To Leclerc:	And we need secondary RB position five.
50	To Leclerc:	The incident was at turn two, one and two.
51	To Vettel:	Safety Car again, was a contact at turn one, stay positive. Charge button on. And stay out.
51	To Leclerc:	Keep working the tyres.
51	To Vettel:	Stay positive. Contact between Kimi and Kvyat at turn one.
51	To Vettel:	Keep working on your tyres as you did before.
51	To Leclerc:	You are doing a good job with the tyres. Safety Car in this lap. Secondary RB position one. And we will need K2 on.
51	To Leclerc:	We’ll need K2 on. Safety car in this lap.
51	To Vettel:	Safety Car in this lap. Will be K2 on at the start.
52	To Vettel:	And K2 on.
52	To Vettel:	K2 off.
52	To Leclerc:	Nine laps to go, nine laps.
53	To Leclerc:	Use K1 plus, not K1, K1 plus.

There were fewer messages over the run to the chequered flag:

Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
53	To Vettel:	Nine laps to go.
54	To Leclerc:	And DRS enabled.
55	To Leclerc:	Use K1 plus to defend.
55	To Vettel:	Focus on turn 13 exit, where you are, for rear tyre slips.
55	To Leclerc:	We need to manage the power unit. Use K1 plus to defend.
55	Leclerc:	I need to use (unclear).
56	To Leclerc:	Verstappen behind at two seconds, Sebastian in front one point (unclear).
56	To Vettel:	Turn 13 was better last lap, better at turn 13, well done.
56	To Vettel:	You’ve just done the fastest lap. Six to go.
56	To Leclerc:	We need multi-function mix 11.
57	To Vettel:	Multi-function mix position 12 when you can.
57	To Vettel:	Charles lap time 5.3, Bottas 5.0.
58	To Vettel:	Multi B green mode position nine. Don’t take any risks.
58	To Leclerc:	And we need secondary MOD position nine.
59	To Vettel:	Three to go.
59	To Vettel:	(Unclear, update on fastest lap times)
60	To Leclerc:	We need engine four. Two laps to go.
60	To Vettel:	Engine four.
61	To Leclerc:	This is last lap. SOC 1.
61	To Vettel:	Last lap.
61	To Vettel:	Torque one is available.

Team principal Mattia Binotto came on the radio to speak to both drivers after they took the chequered flag, though their moods contrasted sharply:

Lap	Exchange	Message (notes in italics)
Post-race	To Vettel:	Yes Sebastian! P1. Nice job. One and two for Ferrari. Aweseome job. Well done.
Post-race	To Leclerc:	Chequered flag. Slow button on. P2.
Post-race	Leclerc:	Yeah, I know. It’s OK. We speak later.
Post-race	To Leclerc:	Copy, understood.
Post-race	To Vettel:	And cool the brakes.
Post-race	Vettel:	Grazie ragazzi. Grande gara. Forza Ferrari sempre. Grazie mille. Un saluto a Maranello, grazie per i pezzi. Che performance qui a Singapore, grazie. La macchina è stata grande, quasi come voi. (Thank you guys. Great race. Forward Ferrari always. Thanks a lot. Greetings to Maranello, thanks for the updates What a performance here in Singapore, thanks. The car was great, like you.) Thank you guys, all of you.
Post-race	To Vettel:	Mattia Binotto Seb, contentissimo per te. (Seb, I am very happy for you.) Bravo, bravo, bravo.
Post-race	To Leclerc:	Bravo Charles. Sono Mattia. Sono contento anche per te. Adesso vai a podio e giosci. (Bravo Charles. It’s Mattia. I am happy also for you. Now go to the podium and enjoy.)
Post-race	Leclerc:	(Exhales)
Post-race	To Leclerc:	Punto. (Full stop.)
Post-race	To Vettel:	Enjoy the fireworks. Here is awesome as usual. You are the lion of Singapore. How many wins do you have? Many.
Post-race	Vettel:	Five, five.
Post-race	To Vettel:	Five for car number five.
Post-race	Vettel:	Exactly, grazie.
Post-race	To Vettel:	Well done.
Post-race	To Leclerc:	And you need to go into the pit lane and under the podium.
Post-race	Leclerc:	Yeah, OK.
Post-race	To Vettel:	And go in the pit lane.
Post-race	Vettel:	Copy.
Post-race	To Leclerc:	And go to P0, P0.
Post-race	To Leclerc:	Go to P0, P0.

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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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50 comments on “Vettel vs Leclerc: Complete Ferrari Singapore team radio transcript”

Matteo (@m-bagattini)
25th September 2019, 13:57

Thanks Keith for this article, very interesting conversations indeed.

If I may, one fellow Italian usually writes an (amazing) article following each GP by going in deep details after reviewing the race from both cockpits. He has a very good understanding of the dynamics between drivers and engineers and knowledge of Ferrari’s steering wheel commands.

Anyway, here’s the article for Singapore: https://www.f1analisitecnica.com/2019/09/gp-singapore-2019-analisi-onboard-ferrari.html

Indeed it’s in Italian. Here’s a link to translate it with Google: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=it&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.f1analisitecnica.com%2F2019%2F09%2Fgp-singapore-2019-analisi-onboard-ferrari.html
1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
  25th September 2019, 14:10
  
  @m-bagattini – I presume you’re a native Italian speaker. Would you be able to give a small summary of the article in English? i.e. the key points, conclusions, etc.
  
  While Google Translate is an impressive technical feat, it cannot (yet) capture the nuances of human conversation, which means subtleties can often get lost in translation – which can be crucial in an article talking about the human dynamics of a race team.
  
  e.g. a simple example, the translation provided states: “Vettel makes a turn that I expected to see from a redhead of many, too many Grand Prix riders.” I suspect the author is referring by “redhead” to “hot headedness” and not Vettel’s hair colour :)
  1. Don frika del prima
    25th September 2019, 15:52
    
    I suggest you use deepl.com it has a lot less languages, but it is a lot better. Keeps grammar rules in mind etc
  2. Gianni
    26th September 2019, 1:59
    
    It’s roughly “Vettel makes a lap that I wanted to see from a Ferrari since many GPs”. He wants to say that Vettel’s out lap was an awesome, near perfect lap.
    
    “Rossa” (red) is referred to the car’s colour (the red car, in English…)
  3. Megu (@megumi)
    26th September 2019, 4:33
    
    I’m Japanese, but I always enjoy reading his article. It’s really informative and fascinating.
    
    The point is, he doesn’t try to make any conclusions, just tell us what he saw on the onboards and what was said on the radio, with some analysis (and his educated analysis is spot on!). So it’s difficult to make a “small” summary.
    
    If I pick one point which relates to this Vettel-was-favoured theory, he points out what they did “not” say. Ferrari usually tell drivers fake mapping change to let drivers know pit stop is imminent without letting know their rivals, but they didn’t do this in this race. So he says it is more natural to think that they simply reacted Verstappen, as Binotto said.
    
    I use Google Translation to read his article. As you say, there are some parts that don’t make sense, for those parts I use DeepL.
    
    As Don frika del prima says, DeepL is great. That “readhead” part is translated like this: Vettel completes a lap that I expected to see from a Red from many, too many Grand Prix. In short, Vettel’s out lap was brilliant as the author had expected from him for a long time.
    1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
      26th September 2019, 4:57
      
      Thank you @megumi and Don frika del prima. DeepL, first I’ve heard of it, but with both your endorsements, I’m definitely bookmarking it!
  4. Matteo (@m-bagattini)
    26th September 2019, 8:56
    
    @phylyp I agree with @megumi, It’s a bit difficult to summarize. I just want to emphasize the part where he looked everything from Max’s perspective. He followed him during the three laps preceding Seb’s pitstop, noticing an increasing difficulty for Max to keep the tires in the working range, sliding and basically giving away the fact that he was going to pit.
    1. Megu (@megumi)
      26th September 2019, 12:57
      
      @m-bagattini someone translated the article using DeepL and posted it on Reddit.
      https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/d927ah/in_depth_report_and_analysis_of_the_onboards_and/
    2. Phylyp (@phylyp)
      26th September 2019, 13:25
      
      @m-bagattini @megumi – thank you both!
2. Cronies
  25th September 2019, 16:02
  
  Great article, thanks!
Andy Bunting (@wildbiker)
25th September 2019, 14:32

Thanks for the radio transcripts. I still have a hollow feeling that CL was hard done by once again by Ferrs…..
1. macradar (@macradar)
  25th September 2019, 15:16
  
  They want him to know without any doubt who is in charge and that for all his talent he doesn’t call the shots.
  Imagine if he went to Merc or RB not that Max would want that!
  1. macradar (@macradar)
    25th September 2019, 15:17
    
    Fascinating transcript!
    Amazing skulduggery!
    Thank you Keith
KevinC (@kevinc)
25th September 2019, 14:59

Contrary to all the people calling him a moaner and telling him to get over it, I think Leclerc comes across as pretty mature in these exchanges. Obviously not happy about the strategy, but he isn’t effing and blinding over the radio like many would be.
SammyH
25th September 2019, 15:26

Does anyone know what the “oil button” is that the Ferrari pit wall referenced on multiple occasions? It seems they can manually set an oil number (pitwall to Vettel lap 25) and have a manual oil button (pitwall to Leclerc lap 34).

My only idea is that they have a system (ice?) that can run with little to no oil and they can use the oil they save for either a performance or reliability gain. There’s also the possibility that they’ve named the system ‘oil’ simply to hide from Mercedes with what that system is and does – a provocative nod to oil burning?
1. GeeMac (@geemac)
  25th September 2019, 15:51
  
  I think it is reference to the button that transfers oil from the reserve oil tank. You can see it clearly in this photo (marked “Oil”)..though this is the SF71H not the SF90:
  
  https://www.motorsport.com/f1/photos/ferrari-sf71h-steering-wheel-16387430/36931454/
  
  Red Bulls in the Vettel world championship era had a similar button.
  
  https://www.motorsport.com/f1/photos/red-bull-racing-rb9-steering-wheel/1538657/
  1. Ajaxn
    26th September 2019, 4:56
    
    Don’t tell me Ferrari are back to their old ploy of burning oil to boost their combustion. I thought they outlawed that?
    
    ’25To Vettel: SOC 6, oil 7 to attack Stroll.’
    
    This kind of speaks for itself. Are the stewards turning a blind eye to this now?
Andrie
25th September 2019, 15:42

Is this official transcript? Cause on lap 15 what I heard was Leclerc asking if he can push not if he can pit which the team answer yes. This is also confirmed by Anthony Davidson and Sky team saying Leclerc was just been told he can push.

I admit the radio transmission is a bit garbled but asking if he can pit and the team answer yes but then he didn’t pit us even more confusing. Cause this mean it was Leclerc decision and he was given the first option anyway.
magon4 (@magon4)
25th September 2019, 15:45

I really still can’t see it, it terms of a plan to gift Vettel a victory. No such thing. They were covering Max and hoping to undercut Lewis, no one seriously thought he would undercut Charles – why would they pit him in the next lap if that were the plan?
To switch the cars afterwards might have been somewhat fair, but the consequences would be too negative for the team. And since none of them are driving for the title, fair enough, I would say.
1. F1oSaurus (@)
  25th September 2019, 17:37
  
  @magon4 Well they could at least have told Leclerc what was happening, but they didn’t and that meant Leclerc wasn’t as fast on his in-lap as he could have been.
  1. magon4 (@magon4)
    25th September 2019, 17:53
    
    Agreed. but they were not monitoring that.
  2. Ahmed Hassan (@ahmedschomi)
    25th September 2019, 22:14
    
    Please recheck the transcript, they did informed Chares the Seb is in pit before they box him.
    1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      25th September 2019, 22:30
      
      @ahmedschomi No, they didn’t.
      1. Alexander Nicklisch
        26th September 2019, 2:40
        
        @keithcollantine
        
        Could you please explain why you think that Charles backed off as you claim here and in several of your articles? It is contrary to what Charles stated, saying that it did not matter whether or not they team had told him that Seb had pitted, because he could not have gone any faster due “pretty dead tyres”. This was also Mercedes’s assessment (from their pure pitwall segment (1:30)); they say to their surprise Charles tyres fell apart almost as soon as he started pushing. And this is precisely how I read your lap times chart: it makes a lot more sense that his laps times crept back up after starting to push because his tyres were dropping off, not because he started to take it easy.
      2. Megu (@megumi)
        26th September 2019, 11:29
        
        @keithcollantine, I’d like to ask you the same thing as Alexander Nicklisch.
        
        In the script, on lap 15, they said to Leclerc “back to mode race”. You might think that it was to slow down Leclerc, but I think the opposite.
        
        They said “back to” because on lap 12 they told him to change the mode to “FS4”. According to Alex Brunetti, who wrote this article (https://www.f1analisitecnica.com/2019/09/gp-singapore-2019-analisi-onboard-ferrari.html) @m-bagattini mentioned earlier, “FS4” stands for “Fuel Saving 4″. This mode is sometimes used to save tyres. If that the case, ” back to mode race. Target lap time: 48.5.” means “stop tyre saving and start pushing”.
        
        Was the Leclerc’s radio on lap 16 not “I can pit?” but “I can push?” by any chance?
  3. Megu (@megumi)
    25th September 2019, 23:57
    
    No, because they were racing Hamilton, and it was not crucial information. Leclerc was told after the stop that they need to push as much as he could so that he would not be overcut by Hamilton.
    
    I believe one of the reasons Ferrari didn’t pit Leclerc first was because Hamilton seemed to have more pace in hand on the old tires. If Leclerc had pitted earlier, Hamilton would have got clean air and Leclerc might have been overcut, at least they thought so at the time. Leclerc started pushing on lap 15, but he couldn’t maintain that pace because his tires were finished already after 3 laps.
    
    In the press conference after the race, when Leclerc was asked had he known Vettel had pitted, he had more pace, he said that “the tyres were quite dead” at that time.
    https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.fia-post-race-press-conference-singapore-2019.s3ox2YKXehMHDsnWUoz6E.html
    1. Alexander Nicklisch
      26th September 2019, 2:53
      
      +1
      
      That’s right they thought both cars were racing Hamilton, and probably had not expected Charles tyres to drop as quickly as they did since he had been controlling the pace for the first 15 laps. (After all, Hamilton was able to push the tyres for 6 more laps in spite of the fact that he had been in dirty air for the previous 20 laps.)
      
      Obviously, Seb benefited from the strategy. But Keith’s theory that “If they’d told Leclerc his team mate was pitting, he might have found the few tenths he needed to stay ahead” does not hold water. Neither does it seem that Ferrari were intentionally keeping Leclerc in the dark (what motivation would they have to do that?), nor was it the case that Leclerc wasn’t pushing. His tyres were just shot. And perhaps he did not drive a good first stint – he bunched up the field, drove to the target time, but didn’t manage his tyres well enough to be able to push towards the end of the stint the way Hamilton did last year.
    2. KGN11
      26th September 2019, 5:10
      
      How could it not have been crucial information when Lewis was less than a second behind Charles?
      1. Megu (@megumi)
        26th September 2019, 11:01
        
        KGN11, sorry for causing confusion. What I said ‘not crucial information’ was the fact that Vettel had pitted.
2. KGN11
  26th September 2019, 5:08
  
  Lewis was less than a second behind Charles without also undercutting him?
HAL
25th September 2019, 16:35

Some were saying after the GP that Leclerc was whining too much… But from this transcript, i find him to be quite mature and reasonable. I mean, he is not happy and make sure they know it (which is what he has to do), but he didn’t push it and even reassure the team at some point.

In my opinion, either the undercut was really more powerful than expected either Ferrari perfectly played it to get a 1-2 which is a great result for a team that looked to be spiraling down just 4 GP ago. I do tend to believe the second option is the right one. So not fair to Leclerc, but was the right thing to do for Ferrari.
1. hamiledon
  25th September 2019, 18:29
  
  “Some were saying after the GP that Leclerc was whining too much…”
  As usual British media.
  1. John H (@john-h)
    25th September 2019, 23:21
    
    British media? Is this sarcasm?
    1. Phylyp (@phylyp)
      26th September 2019, 2:56
      
      @john-h – it’s entertaining, that’s for sure. :)
      
      Right now, Keith’s being accused of bias against Vettel. Not too long ago, other commenters were hurling allegations of his bias against Hamilton. With Max being another star, I’d say give ’em time, Keith will soon pick up the trifecta of bias against Max as well.
      1. GongTong (@gongtong)
        26th September 2019, 20:17
        
        He was pretty unpopular here, @phylyp ;)
        
        https://www.racefans.net/2018/11/12/why-verstappen-should-have-been-banned-shoving-ocon/
      2. Phylyp (@phylyp)
        27th September 2019, 1:44
        
        @gongtong – ah, how could I have forgotten that? Thank you :)
        
        So, wow, Keith’s actually collected the whole set, and nobody said a thing! ;)
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
25th September 2019, 16:57

@keithcollantine moments before Vettel is told to pit Verstappen is told to pit on his radio. At that moment I thought Ferrari was covering Verstappen but indeed it may probably be for both Verstappen and Hamilton.
Matt
25th September 2019, 18:00

I don’t know what the answer is, but the transcripts alone are further evidence of the pinnacle of motorsport’s cars and drivers tootling along seconds off the pace to conserve tyres and engines.

Instead of trialling new weekend and qualifying formats next season, give the manufacturers a ‘free’ engine and enough decent tyres at a track to blast around attacking at qualifying speeds (albeit with fuel onboard) and let’s see what that looks like.
1. Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
  25th September 2019, 20:31
  
  F1 is no different now to what it’s always been. They have never been driving flat out at qualifying speeds in races & have always needed to drive to manage the car/tyres & they don’t even need to do that as much as they used to when they needed to manage far more things.
2. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  25th September 2019, 21:42
  
  I don’t know what the answer is, but the transcripts alone are further evidence of the pinnacle of motorsport’s cars and drivers tootling along seconds off the pace to conserve tyres and engines.
  
  To be fair, Singapore is an extreme case. Contrast that with Spa, for instance, where Leclerc said virtually nothing all race.
Digby
25th September 2019, 18:39

Yuck it reads like an operating table discussion. This is not the pinnacle of Motorsport that the world deserves.

F1 should be flat out controlled aggression lap after lap with drivers barely able to talk, not cruising around as slow as possible to keep to a delta time and caring more about which button setting they should be in. Its completely lost the plot!
1. Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
  25th September 2019, 20:29
  
  F1 should be flat out controlled aggression lap after lap
  
  But F1 has never been that, There has always & will always be management of different parts of the car to varying degrees.
  
  There isn’t even as much management now as there used to be when drivers had to take care of engines, gearboxes, clutches, brakes & the tyres.
  
  There was something repeated in different ways by many of the greats of the past (Fangio, Stewart, Clark, Lauda & Prost to name a few) that was that F1 is about winning while going at the slowest possible speed. That is as true now as it’s always been & anyone that thinks car/tyre/engine management & driving ‘to a delta’ are new things clearly haven’t been following F1 that long.
James (@knewman)
25th September 2019, 21:59

Is there anything in the regulation that requires teams to use English over their radios?
1. GT Racer (@gt-racer)
  26th September 2019, 0:45
  
  @knewman No.
  
  Most of the time they do because English is a language that a majority of those in the paddock understand. However there are engineer’s at Ferrari who listen to the radio comms both at the track & back at Maranello who only speak Italian so there is some internal radio communication at Ferrari that is Italian (Think its the same at STR actually).
  
  And while rare there have been instances in the past of drivers not been fluent in English.
  1. James (@knewman)
    26th September 2019, 16:14
    
    “You will not have the drink, Kimi” :D
Ahmed Hassan (@ahmedschomi)
25th September 2019, 22:20

Thanks for this transcript that shows the win was got fairly, but the cry baby won’t be happy.
1. clones
  26th September 2019, 2:36
  
  Evidence of cry baby?
  
  Or is it personal bias and assumptions?
John F.
26th September 2019, 1:45

20 To Vettel: You are racing Hamilton, and push.

Either you believe this or not. The only line that matters if you’re thinking if the undercut to Charles was intentional or not.
Stephen Mallia
26th September 2019, 7:49

Another Transcript, is there a smoking gun about Ukraine….oops wrong article.
Cheryl (@)
26th September 2019, 8:40

I miss the team radio transcripts you used to provide after each race on the website Keith. Any possiblity you may resurrect this?