Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Circuit of the Americas, 2018

300 team radio messages from the United States Grand Prix

2018 United States Grand Prix

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Discover a raft of unheard team radio messages from the United States Grand Prix: Here’s over 300 communications from the race.

Fernando Alonso’s United States Grand Prix was over within a few seconds thanks to Lance Stroll:

Alonso:Yeah I don’t know how much damage I have. These guys are impossible to race with, impossible. I see a lot of damage on the right sidepod so box this lap and you check.
To Hamilton:So Vettel has spun he’s down the order now, still running.

Several other drivers incurred first-lap damage, some of it race-ending:

Grosjean:OK man Leclerc almost ran into me and the Renault never made turn one.
To Grosjean:Both messages understood, we’ll report.
Grosjean:Oh fuck, front wing.
To Grosjean:OK understood.
Grosjean:It’s under the car.
To Grosjean:OK.
To Leclerc:Charles are you OK?
To Leclerc:Charles, feedback please.
Leclerc:Well I’m not OK, obviously. I don’t know what did Grosjean.
To Leclerc:Any car damage, Charles?
Leclerc:Yeah of course, we need to box.
To Leclerc:Copy, so box this lap.
Hartley:Hit something with the front wing.
To Hartley:Copy we are checking. Keep us posted on balance.
To Hartley:Mode six, overtake available.
To Hartley:We are P12 and we are happy with the front wing.
Hartley:Copy.
To Grosjean:OK we’re ready for you with a front wing, just try not to do too much damage there coming in, we’ll catch up to everyone.
Grosjean:Check the front-right suspension as well. I’m worried it might be a bit more than front wing.
To Grosjean:OK we’re going to check the front suspension now.
To Grosjean:So we’ll go out, we’ll see what the suspension is like.
To Grosjean:Data looks OK on suspension side.
Grosjean:I think the front wishbone is dead.
To Grosjean:Yeah think something is wrong in the front wishbone, understood.
Grosjean:Sorry.
To Grosjean:OK understood you need to box.
To Grosjean:We can see that the power steering is off-centre so there’s clearly something not right.
To Hulkenberg:Scenario three. Magnussen P11, Grosjean out of the race.
To Gasly:Pierre what about the car, do you think it’s all OK.
Gasly:No I don’t have much grip.
Raikkonen:Is my right-rear OK? Massive oversteer second-last corner.
To Raikkonen:We double-check, Kimi.
To Raikkonen:We don’t see anything obvious Kimi, on our side the data is fine.

Daniel Ricciardo’s retirement prompted a Virtual Safety Car:

To Raikkonen:Virtual Safety Car Kimi. Slow button on and stay positive in each mini-sector.
Raikkonen:Any idea how far, how long is it?
To Raikkonen:I will let you know.
To Raikkonen:Kimi to start just leave K2 on. Engine one.
To Raikkonen:Stay out, Kimi.
To Raikkonen:Most likely Hamilton is coming in.
To Hamilton:VSC, VSC, keep the delta positive.
To Hamilton:Brake magic on. RS magic off.
Leclerc:Did they leave the rain VSC? It seems so slow.
Hamilton:Staying out?
To Hamilton:OK Lewis so it will be box opposite Raikkonen if we are still in VSC.
Hamilton:He’s now starting to…
To Hamilton:Just keep…
Hamilton:He’s coming.
To Hamilton:Just keep the delta positive, box opposite Raikkonen.
To Hamilton:So just check, you have the magic on, so no worries.
To Hamilton:That’s Verstappen on-track now. Keep that delta positive.
To Hamilton:VSC ending.
To Hamilton:So Lewis P3 on the road just Raikkonen and Valtteri ahead.
To Hartley:Stay out. Brendon we are moving to Plan B, please confirm you understand the message.
Hartley:Yeah copy I understand.
Leclerc:I’m trying but there is definitely something wrong with the car. The rear end is so loose.
To Leclerc:Understood, Charles.

Not for the last time in the race, Valtteri Bottas had to let Lewis Hamilton by:

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To Bottas:Lewis is 3.7 behind. So don’t hold him up.
To Bottas:Still close to target lap. Tyre temps cool.
To Bottas:So we’d like you to let Lewis go by into turn one.
Bottas:Copy.
To Bottas:Thankyou Valtteri.
To Hamilton:Raikkonen 8.5 seconds ahead.
Hamilton:Do I need to close this gap?
To Hamilton:Affirm Lewis you have a much more resilient tyre. Valtteri will pose no threat.
To Hamilton:Valtteri will let you through into turn one.
To Hamilton:Raikkonen seven seconds ahead.

Renault, studying the leaders’ lap times, realised their drivers would unlikely to get lapped and would therefore have to save more fuel:

To Hulkenberg:OK Nico fuel consumption was good. Still half a second a lap quciker than Ocon.
To Hulkenberg:OK Nico we may not be lapped so we want to target minus 30 green lap delta.
Hulkenberg:Copy.

Max Verstappen blamed his inability to get on terms with Bottas on the usual culprit:

To Verstappen:Bottas last lap 40.0. Vettel last lap 40.2 so the gap to Vettel is still at 9.2.
To Verstappen:It’s only the middle sector to Bottas. I’m sure you can imagine where that delta is.
Verstappen:Yeah I’m missing some ponies there.

Having pitted for fresh tyres, Hamilton closed on race leader Kimi Raikkonen. TheFerrari driver held him at bay for a few laps, then pitted:

Raikkonen:Front is definitely going.
To Raikkonen:Understood. Try to keep your tyres alive Kimi, we are not far.
Raikkonen:On the pit stop we need more front wing.
To Raikkonen:Understood, Kimi.
Raikkonen:Oh actually not.
To Raikkonen:Understood.
To Raikkonen:Solid blue.
Raikkonen:I cannot hold him behind.
To Raikkonen:Understood Kimi. Engine one.
Raikkonen:Has he got DRS?
To Raikkonen:He is on DRS. We are racing him. We think he’s on a two-stop.
Raikkonen:Yeah but let’s just not do anything stupid.
To Raikkonen:We will not, Kimi.
Raikkonen:Yeah the tyres are going.
To Raikkonen:Understood.
To Raikkonen:He is on DRS.
Raikkonen:Yeah I cannot see him.
To Raikkonen:Multifunction charge. Box Kimi, box.

Meanwhile Red Bull pounced on the opportunity to get Verstappen ahead of Bottas:

To Verstappen:So Kimi pitted for new soft.
To Verstappen:Alright Max box opposite Bottas. Display six in the pit lane.
To Bottas:Push hard now.
To Bottas:So box, box, do the opposite to Raikkonne.
Bottas:Copy.
To Bottas:OK we’re staying back on plan. Still target plus five. We’d like you to try and pull the gap to Verstappen please. Lewis will be in pushing mode.
To Bottas:So push hard now strat 10. Give it everything you’ve got very tight with Verstappen.
To Bottas:Box, box.
To Bottas:Very tight on exit.
To Bottas:Diff high speed five. Very tight on exit, Verstappen will be alongside.
To Bottas:OK so looking after tyres. We don’t think Verstappen can get to the end.
To Verstappen:Focus on your marks, clean stop.
To Verstappen:Display eight we’ll have mode seven and white line on the eixt.
To Verstappen:OK you get the idea here Max, everything you’ve got on this lap.
To Verstappen:OK Bottas is pitting we will be racing him.
Verstappen:What was the gap?
To Verstappen:OK racing Bottas.
To Verstappen:Nice job. Mode eight. Get yourself a bit of a buffer before turn 12.
Verstappen:Great job, guys.
To Verstappen:Good lap, Max.
To Verstappen:Blue flag, Stroll. OK back into lift-off. We are not certain we’re going to stop again so look after the tyres at this stage of the stint.
To Verstappen:Ahead of you three seconds Vettel, he’s obviously yet to stop.
To Verstappen:Max expecting Vettel in this lap.
Verstappen:If it’s not allowed on the inside we go around the outside.
To Verstappen:OK so rear-left tyre was the limitation on the soft. This wouldn’t be an easy feat to get to the end on this stint so just look after that rear-left tyre, Max.

Perez claimed Ocon was holding him up:

Perez:Tell Esteban to push harder. He’s holding me up. I’ve got half a second.
To Perez:Understood, just be careful with fronts.
Perez:Are we still on target or are we planning to extent?
To Perez:Checo at the moment extend. Some of the cars that have stopped have gone to soft like Vandoorne, Gasly and Sirotkin. They are in our pit window at the moment and they have reasonable pace so we are trying to build up a tyre delta. But we’ll keep you informed.
Perez:OK.

Hamilton lost time in traffic, then had to make a second pit stop, after which Raikkonen caught the same backmarkers the Mercedes had been stuck behind.

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To Verstappen:Gap to Kimi is at 3.5. We’re probably into the window now where we think it will affect our tyres. I’ll keep you posted on Bottas’s performance. Do you think you can overtake him?
Verstappen:I’m not sure mate. I’m just trying to do the best I can on my tyres.
To Verstappen:OK so for the moment just keep the gap to Kimi stationary as it is now and I’ll keep you posted on Bottas’s lap times. Gap current at five seconds.
To Verstappen:OK info: Hamilton suffered with severe blisters and he’s pitting again. He will fall behind us.
Verstappen:Yeah the soft is not a fantastic tyre.
To Verstappen:Understood, Max.
To Raikkonen:Hamilton now is P4, he just boxed, we reckon he will catch us in the last three laps of the race.
Raikkonen:This fucking Toro Rosso isn’t moving.
To Raikkonen:Yes solid blue now.
Raikkonen:Yes but it’s taking a fucking long time.
Raikkonen:So where is Hamilton? Behind who?
To Raikkonen:He is behind Verstappen who is in second position now. He is on option [super-soft], Verstappen, and Hamilton is on prime [soft]. Hamilton is lapping 37.3.

Force once Brendon Hartley was the beneficiary of team orders at Toro Rosso, as they used his struggling team mate to delay Marcus Ericsson:

Hartley:OK getting pretty close to the car in front, what’s going to happen guys?
To Hartley:It will happen, keep your head down.
To Hartley:We have blue flag for Hamilton. Back to mode six and try to follow hamilton now.
Hartley:Yeah copy I lost a lot but I had no choice.
To Hartley:You can use DRS.
Hartley:It didn’t let me.
To Hartley:Mode six.
To Hartley:OK you need to push to catch Gasly now. Ericsson is coming fast behind on new super-softs.
Hartley:OK I’m going to be right on Gasly at the back straight.
To Hartley:Driver swap turn 12.
Hartley:Copy I’m right on his arse. My DRS doesn’t seem to work.
To Gasly:OK Vandoorne 2.5 in front. Hartley 3.5 behind on afresh tyre, we need to overtake Vandoorne.
Gasly:Which tyres are Brendon on?
To Gasly:It’s a fresh soft, three laps old. Multi B7 lambda position four, blue flag for Hamilton behind.
To Gasly:OK Pierre driver swap now turn 12.
To Hartley:OK Ericsson is stuck behind Gasly now. We need to try and open the gap.
Hartley:Yep. I’m stuck behind Hamilton. As strange as that sounds to say, he’s not pulling away.
Gasly:Why didn’t pit me [unclear]?
To Gasly:Now you have Ericsson 1.6 behind.
Gasly:Five seconds, fucking hell, you could have pitted me, seriously!
To Gasly:Protect for Ericsson behind.
To Gasly:Box, box, Pierre, box.

Meanwhile Bottas had to make way for Hamilton again:

To Hamilton:OK Lewis so we’re going to have 19 laps to go. We’ve got Vettel coming out behind, you should be ahead. Valtteri is the car ahead.
To Hamilton:19 laps to go, Lewis, we just need everything now.
Hamilton:How far ahead?
To Hamilton:12 seconds ahead to Raikkonen.
Hamilton:How did we get to 12 seconds?
To Hamilton:Lewis we really suffered with the backmarker traffic, he’s just been in free air, he’s hitting those backmarkers now.
To Bottas:Just information: Lewis 2.8 behind he is on another set of soft tyres so we just need to let him thorugh at a convenient point.
To Bottas:So if you can let Lewis by into turn 12 on this next lap, turn 12.
Bottas:Copy.
To Bottas:Thankyou Valtteri. So Vettel car behind at 4.5 seconds, he is on three-lap-younger soft tyres.
To Hamilton:Valtteri three seconds ahead, he will not pose any threat. You then have Verstappen than Raikkonen.
To Hamilton:Raikkoenn was a 39.0 last lap. Verstappen 39.3. They are 16 laps older on tyres.
Hamilton:That’s a big gap to catch, man.
To Hamilton:You were 1.1 seconds faster last lap. You’ve got 17 to go. Valtteri will let you through into 12.
Hamilton:Not sure this is the right tyre.
To Hamilton:So you’re on the same tyre as Raikkonen. His tyre is 16 laps older. Raikkonen was a 39.6. Gap to Raikkonen down to nine seconds. Lewis can we have HPP shift position five.
Hamilton:What’s the time difference between me and Verstappen?
To Hamilton:Verstappen’s doing 38.9.
Hamilton:That’s too big a deficit. Too big a deficit.
To Hamilton:You will have a good straight-line advantage over him so let’s see when we get there. Gap to Raikkonen 6.1.
Hamilton:How’s their pace?
To Hamilton:Raikkonen is a 38.9. Next car ahead Verstappen, 4.4 seconds, last lap 38.7 for him.
To Hamilton:So it’ll be 10 laps when you cross the line.
Hamilton:Definitely feels like the wrong tyre.
To Hamilton:Gap to Verstappen 1.3. You have six overtake pushes left. Just ignore the dash messages. You’ve got Stroll ahead of Verstappen who is traffic.
Hamilton:The tyres have got nothing left in them.

And there was a change of positions at Ferrari too:

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Raikkonen:Going to let me past?
To Raikkonen:Yes, yes, he’s informed of it.
Raikkonen:Letting past or what?
To Raikkonen:Yes you can go, he knows.
Raikkonen:OK this is how it works.
To Raikkonen:Hamilton 39.4 we just need to match his pace. Think about tyres and fuel, we could fight with him at the end.
To Vettel:You will need to let Kimi by.
Vettel:Yeah.
To Vettel:Kimi will be 5.2 behind.
To Vettel:Going long as possible. Verstappen is four seconds behind Kimi. Behind Stroll now.
To Vettel:Verstappen two seconds behind, he is on new option.
Vettel:OK he’s going to go straight through me, we’ll lose time.
To Vettel:Copy.
Vettel:My rears are done.
To Vettel:Copy that.
To Vettel:Brake migration minus two clicks. And engine one. And box Sebastian, box for new prime.

Verstappen edged towards Raikkonen despite his more fragile tyres and some fuel concerns:

To Verstappen:You might notice your fuel goes slightly unsafe on the dash but we’re monitoring that so let us control it.
To Verstappen:Do you think you can push up to Kimi or is that your pace?
Verstappen:I’m doing it in a sensible way.
To Verstappen:Understood. Fine for now just make sure you’re in Kimi’s tow which will help you in that fight down to turn 12.
To Verstappen:You made use mode seven between 11 and 12 for the rest of the race. Mode seven before turn 11 and then mode eight after turn 12 as soon as you can.

Over the second half of the race Haas realised the depth of Magnussen’s fuel worries. Having initially told him to lift-and-coast to save tyres, when it dawned on them that they would have to complete the race distance Magnussen was repeatedly urged to take drastic measures to save fuel.

Magnussen:Spark?
To Magnussen:OK come back to you.
To Magnussen:Stay in this spark. use K1. You have K1 available whenever you want.
To Magnussen:You are doing an excellent job, stay close to the Mexican, will be fine.
To Magnussen:We will be very close to Perez on exit. Come on boy give everything.
To Magnussen:Box Kevin box please confirm.
Magnussen:Box now.
To Magnussen:Remember to holf the brake pressure. You will fight at the exit with perez.
To Magnussen:Mode restart, watch white line.
To Magnussen:USe everything on the back straight. K1 and K1 old is available.
To Magnussen:Go back to mode push.
To Magnussen:Mode push, mode push, good job.
To Magnussen:Go to mode push.
To Magnussen:Great job so far, let’s settle down, next target is Ocon.
To Magnussen:Spark two. K1 at the moment is not available.
To Magnussen:Let’s start with 100 metres of lift-and-coast please.
To Magnussen:Tyre temperatures are getting in the window, good job so far.
To Magnussen:Come on, next target is Ocon.
To Magnussen:Next target is to get closer to Ocon with tyres in good condition so think about it.
To Magnussen:Lift-and-coast is fine.
To Magnussen:Let’s try to increase lift-and-coast at least 150 metres, please. This is for tyres to be in good condition we will get there behind Oocn.
To Magnussen:We are a bit worried about tyre temperatures so let’s try to increase lift-and-coast.
To Magnussen:Press oil pump.
To Magnussen:Just to be clear this lift-and-coast is to try to drop our tyre temperature.
Magnussen:Understood, I’m trying.
To Magnussen:Need to increase 50 metres lift-and-coast.
To Magnussen:You still have two laps of spark one available in case of a clear overtaking chance.
Magnussen:I need more power.
To Magnussen:You can use K1.
Magnussen:No I need to get close to him.
To Magnussen:So for more power spark one is available. You can go to spark one.
To Magnussen:Old K1 is available in case.
To Magnussen:You can keep spark one, come on boy, let’s do it.
To Magnussen:Just need to improve exit of corner 11.
To Magnussen:K1 old is not available.
To Magnussen:You have the last lap to try to overtake otherwise we need to revert.
To Magnussen:Spark five, need to revert to spark five and increase lift-and-coast as much as you can. Perez is 1.2 seconds behind.
To Magnussen:More lift-off, more lift-and-coast please. Perez 1.1 seconds behind.
To Magnussen:OK in case to defend standard K1 is available, not K1 old, just standard K1.
To Magnussen:We need to increase the level of lift-and-coast.
To Magnussen:We need to increase much more lift-and-coast otherwise we are critical. K1 is available just to protect but increase lift-and-coast, we are critical otherwise.
To Magnussen:Perez should receive soon blue flag for Raikkonen, he is just behind him.
To Magnussen:Increase lift-and-coast as much as you can.
To Magnussen:OK try to drop the pace as much as you can.
To Magnussen:Use K1 in case for defend but we need to drop the pace, increase lift-and-coast as much as you can.
To Magnussen:Mode engine safe, mode engine safe, mode engine safe, please.
To Magnussen:Lift off as much as you can. We need to save much more.
To Magnussen:K1 old is available to defend but we need to lift-coast as much as we can.

Gasly, strugglign with a tyre vibration as well as his first-lap damage, was keen to park up:

To Gasly:Four laps to go, four laps.
Gasly:I’d rather save the mileage on the engine.
Gasly:Strange feeling on the brakes.
To Gasly:What do you feel?
Gasly:Doesn’t brake properly. Pedal is strange.
To Gasly:Copy, we have vibration on tyres.
Gasly:We’re just struggling at the end, I don’t know what to do, [unclear], I don’t know what we are doing.
To Gasly:All good on brakes we just have vibration on tyres.
Gasly:Can you tell me what’s the point? To save the engine.
To Gasly:We are already saving everything, we are saving it.

Verstappen saw off Hamilton to second:

To Verstappen:Hamilton does not have DRS. Sector one was another two-tenths quicker than him. There is a whole world of pain ahead so opportunity could be coming.
To Verstappen:You and Hamilton have DRS.
To Verstappen:Four laps to go.
To Verstappen:Lewis does have DRS.
To Verstappen:You have the overtake button, only use it if you think you need it.
To Verstappen:He’s gone wide, Max, keep it clean.

But Bottas couldn’t keep Vettel from passing him for fourth.

Bottas:Tyres are starting to go.
To Bottas:Copy that so do what you can, four to go.
To Bottas:Vettel has DRS, you can use overtake. Gap currently at one second.
To Bottas:At 0.8.
To Bottas:You can use overtake, Vettel has DRS at 0.9.
To Bottas:Vettel at 0.7.
To Bottas:Vettel has DRS, you can use overtake. Gap currently one second.
To Bottas:Gap at 0.8.
To Bottas:So use overtake, Vettel at 0.7.
To Bottas:Vettel at 0.3.
To Bottas:So use overtake, Vettel at 0.6 so we’ll need to defend.
To Bottas:Vettel at 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2.

Raikkonen finally had his first victroy for five-and-a-half years in sight:

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To Raikkonen:Verstappen with DRS.
To Raikkonen:No DRS for Verstappen.
To Raikkonen:Verstappen out of DRS.
Raikkonen:OK we fucking better be sharp with the blue flags.
To Raikkonen:Yes we will Kimi. Hamilton and Verstappen are battling behind. Two laps to go, Kimi.
To Raikkonen:K1 available Kimi for the main straight and the back straight.
To Raikkonen:Last lap, Kimi.
Raikkonen:Yeah fucking blue flags now.
To Raikkonen:We are on the case.

But Magnussen’s situation was getting serious:

To Magnussen:We are really critical on fuel. You can use K1 to defend.
To Magnussen:Now save as much as you can. You can use K1 just on the straight.
To Magnussen:Lift off on the straight as much as you can, it’s really important.
To Magnussen:Use K1. You have SOC [state of charge] available.
To Magnussen:Lift off, lift off, lift off as much as you can. No throttle. Chequered flag.
To Perez:One more lap. Raikkonen has finished the race but you have one more lap. Magnussen fuel critical.
To Perez:Magnussen will not have DRS. ACS off. Practice. Practice. Checo yellow elec nine position 11.
To Perez:Good job Checo, we need yellow elec nine position 11. ACS off. Yellow elec position 11.

Raikkonen clinched his first victory for five-and-a-half years. Perez’s engineer accurately predicted Magnussen was about to get in trouble, and it later transpired so would Ocon:

To Raikkonen:Grande Kimi, grands Kimi. Slow button on.
To Raikkonen:Well done my friend!
Raikkonen:Yeah thank you fucking finally. Thank you guys.
To Raikkonen:Grande Kimi, grande gara.
To Verstappen:Max that’s P2 mate, how about that?
Verstappen:A bit unexpected starting 18th! Good race.
To Verstappen:Mode one please mate.
To Verstappen:Well done Max that was a very mature drive fantastic. Great job.
Verstappen:It was good. The pace was I think stronger than Kimi ahead but following so closely I ran out of tyres and then we are just missing the top speed.
To Verstappen:You did a mega job with those tyres mate to get them that far. Nobody else could do that today. Well done, enjoy the podium in your cowboy suit.
Verstappen:I will!
To Hamilton:Well done mate that’s P3. Not our day but we’ll take that result. So we’ve got Vettel, he’s just muscled his way past Valtteri so he’s finished P4, Valtteri P5. HHP8 to 13 and strat 12. Brake magic off, RS magic off.
To Vettel:P4, Sebastian, P4. Mode slow.
Vettel:Congrats to Kimi. Congrats to Kimi.
To Vettel:Yeah he defended strongly at the end with Verstappen and Hamilton.
To Bottas:OK so order was Raikkonen, Verstappen, Lewis, Vettel, yourself. HPP eight set position 13, ACS off. Strat 12. And strat one.
To Hulkenberg:That’s it Nico fantastic job there. That’s a win for us and a one-two for the team effectively. Recharge on and scenario 12. Absolutely brilliant Nico, thank you very much.
Hulkenberg:Thanks mate, yeah great job guys. Another really strong showing. How awesome to get those points in the pocket, well done, great job everybody.
To Ocon:Good job Esteban. Sorry about the fuel save there we were one lap from being lapped unfortunately so we had to change strategy.
Ocon:No problem.
To Ocon:Basically Hamilton was pushing out in front but unfortunatley blistered his tyres and had to stop and that meant that we weren’t going to get lapped.
Ocon:Copy that.
To Ocon:But well done that’s a good drive in those circumstances.
Ocon:Yeah thanks, shame about the start really. They took so much risk that I was just a passenger there. Not too bad still.
To Perez:OK Checo so good job. At the end there Magnussen very critical fuel I’m sure the FIA will be looking into whether he’s actually gone over the FIA limit for this race there so good job pushing him at the end because he was really critical on fuel for the last couple of laps.
Perez:Yeah I could see he actually moved massively under braking in the last corner but then he was just cruising.
To Perez:OK Checo copy that. Good job.
To Perez:Checo we’re still struggling on yellow elec nine so we need yellow nine which is elec, yellow elec on the multi-function. And we need position 11, one-one.
Perez:OK, copy.
To Perez:OK Checo that’s switch confirmed.
Perez:And then I change back the trim, no?
To Perez:You can reset yellow brake balance.
Hartley:Thanks for the good work guys I did everything I could, I was as aggressive as I could be. Just outside of the points is a bit annoying.
To Hartley:Copy that, you’ve done a good race. P10 is a bit further up the way. They were 33 seconds.
To Stroll:Chequered flag, P16, long day but good stint on the prime though. Sergey 15th.
Stroll:Yeah sorry about the first lap. Bounce back in Mexico, the last two races have been tough to digest but just bounce back.

NB. As some messages will have been transmitted simultaneously the chronology of the above extracts is not exact.

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Author information

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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29 comments on “300 team radio messages from the United States Grand Prix”

  1. Thank you Keith – good to see this article back regularly, and better than before!

    1. To Magnussen: You are doing an excellent job, stay close to the Mexican, will be fine.

      Amusing way of referring to Perez.

  2. That’s it Nico fantastic job there. That’s a win for us and a one-two for the team

    1. @hugh11 – and thank you, dear viewer, for tuning in to this weekend’s showing of F1(B) :-)

  3. Surprised there was a radio silence for Ricciardo incident on 1st lap.

    1. Ricciardo explained this himself. His engine shut off. Battery was flat, so no radio communication possible. But I think you could read the emotions from a mile when he climbed out of the car.

  4. Bottas says “copy” thrice, and one message about his tyres. Have they broken him that badly, or did he just have a boring race? His engineer was very chatty, though, counting down each tenth to Vettel!

    1. I think this is pretty typical for him, I believe he prefers minimal radio use. I can recall at least one instance where he’s asked his engineer to cut the chatter.

  5. I enjoyed going through that – would be nice as a regular feature if possible.

  6. Love Verstappens comment on overtaking Vettel on the outside where he overtook the other Ferrari on the inside last year.

    1. @marcusaurelius – ah, I didn’t get that reference until I saw your comment. Clever one by Max, especially in the heat of a race.

  7. Hamilton: How did we get to 12 seconds?
    To Hamilton: Lewis we really suffered with the backmarker traffic, he’s just been in free air, he’s hitting those backmarkers now.

    I was amazed that Hamilton was not being kept apprised as he dropped 11 seconds at the end of this second stint, such that he didn’t know he was going to be way behind after this stop. I think he should have been asking about it when his tires were blistering but it seems the team were just acting like everything was copacetic—while everyone watching was wondering why they were just ceding position to Verstappen and putting him out of title-winning position. The answer that he lost the time due to back-markers seems not to be totally accurate and sounded like some quick CYA by the team.

    1. @dmw good point. that message sounded like total nonsense at the time – he clearly lost it by staying out ~5 laps too long on knackered tyres. he could have finished a strong second by pitting earlier but, like mclaren in 2007, they were racing the wrong car in the fight for the title. if he gets 3 DNFs now, this will come back to bite them.

      one other thought is that bottas has been incredibly compliant with letting hamilton through – this will no doubt keep him in a job for longer, but it sets a bit of a precedent (especially if he keeps drifting off the pace throughout the year). it is a huge tactical advantage for mercedes to have him up there and willing to let hamilton through. even small delays can have big consequences, strategically, so his lack of pace has almost been of benefit in some races.

    2. I honestly think the team is scared to tell him stuff over the radio sometimes.

  8. Don’t know if anyone ever seen or heard this
    https://m.soundcloud.com/matt-betros

    1. Thanks for sharing this. Just listened to it. Great to have full radio communication. It is so much better than just the snippets that the FOM lets through.They are influencing the public and they know it. I suspect them of creating images of the bad guy, the friendly guy, the hothead etc. and lo and behold it is working!

  9. Nearly every time Perez is behind Ocon, he is apparently faster than him. For a guy who’s so much faster than his teammate on every occasion, he ends up spending a lot of time behind him.

    1. I had to smile reading your comment. Valid point. But to be fair to Perez, there is some truth in what he claims. Of the 869 laps they raced together this season Perez was faster in 462 laps and Ocon was faster in 407 laps. Not too big a difference. But Perez is most of the time outqualified by Ocon (14 Ocon, 4 Perez). So Ocon has definitively a better startposition than Perez. In the races they finished together Perez record of the fastest lap is better (9 for Perez, 5 for Ocon). But that is also influenced by race strategy. All in all, you might say that Perez could possibly be a bit quicker in the race than Ocon, but he needs to work on his qualification to show it regurarly. Qualification, defending your position, it all belongs to the skill of the racing driver. In stead off moaning and asking for a free pass he should work on the qualification and maybe overtaking skills. But that’s just my opinion. And as a team boss I would let him read your comment!

      1. Interesting. Where did you get the ‘Perez was faster in 462 laps’ data?

        1. @ruliemaulana On http://en.mclarenf-1.com/ (nothing to do with the team McLaren) are all the laptimes and you can compare them head to head. They get the data from the Fia. Just for my own fun I put the data in a spreadsheet to do my own comparison. I also get the data from the official fia site for sector times, speed trap, qualification times, training results and training laps. And it is really interesting to have all that data. Of course you need to be careful with data, for instance the gap in qualifying. How much quicker is a teammate? I exclude the outliers and special circumstances (one had rain, the other didn’t). I saw figures being presented on television that only showed the average gap. In Hungary the gap in qualification between VER and RIC was 5.264 seconds, because of rain that hit RIC. That has a huge influence on the average. I don’t like that, hence my search for the data to have a look for myself. Of course you need to be careful with just data. Race strategy, tyre management, driving wtih damage etc. all play a role. But the further in the season, the more reliable the image is and you can spot trends.

          To complete the story
          HAM-BOT 614-392 (61%-39%)
          VET-RAI 537-404 (57%-43%)
          VER-RIC 480-293 (62%-38%)
          PER-OCO 462-407 (53%-47%)
          STR-SIR 470-382 (55%-45%)
          ALO-VAN 523-288 (64%-36%)
          GAS-HAR 414-225 (65%-35%)
          GRO-MAG 392-437 (47%-53%)
          HUL-SAI 469-349 (57%-43%)
          LEC-ERI 491-315 (61%-39%)

          1. Thanks, bro…

  10. I think they swap some text.
    Verstappen edged towards Raikkonen despite his more fragile tyres and some fuel concerns:

    To Verstappen: You might notice your fuel goes slightly unsafe on the dash but we’re monitoring that so let us control it.
    Verstappen: Do you think you can push up to Kimi or is that your pace?
    To Verstappen: I’m doing it in a sensible way.
    Verstappen: Understood. Fine for now just make sure you’re in Kimi’s tow which will help you in that fight down to turn 12.

    Should be:

    To Verstappen: You might notice your fuel goes slightly unsafe on the dash but we’re monitoring that so let us control it.
    To Verstappen: Do you think you can push up to Kimi or is that your pace?
    Verstappen: I’m doing it in a sensible way.
    Verstappen: Understood. Fine for now just make sure you’re in Kimi’s tow which will help you in that fight down to turn 12.

  11. What a great feature for us hardcore f1 fans. This puts us inside the pit wall, and gives some really interesting information about the race.
    The Magnussen case is great, Hass were desperate to save fuel, and force India new that so ordered Perez to keep the pressure, and it worked, to bad for them they lost Ocon to a fuel issue to.
    And you got to feel sorry for Bottas.

  12. Great article :-)

  13. Only Max, driver that trust his own team.

    Grosjean’s feeling are better than Haas’s sensor.

    I salute Bottas. His engineer was so annoying but he didn’t complain once.

  14. Thanks for the transcripts, really neat.

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