A furious Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean all failed to start their final flying laps in time during Q3.
Team radio messages from the end of qualifying reveal how Red Bull and Haas both failed to get either of their cars to the start/finish line in time to begin their final runs.Verstappen fumed at his rivals for “trying to be nice” and waiting behind each other to start their laps. He lost out after Sebastian Vettel took matters into his own hands and passed several of his rivals in order to ensure he got his final lap in.
Afterwards Verstappe’s race engineer pointed out they probably could have beaten both the Ferraris had he started his last lap in time.
Haas made a similar misjudgement and Kevin Magnussen was also unimpressed after his race engineer repeatedly told him he should have enough time to start his final lap.
| To Verstappen: | OK we’ll need a five second gap to Leclerc minimum. |
| To Verstappen: | Vettel passes Verstappen OK Currently and three-and-a-half. |
| To Verstappen: | Five seconds to Vettel. Let’s go. |
| To Verstappen: | Hulkenberg passes Verstappen Mate you need to go now. |
| Verstappen: | Verstappen fails to cross the line in time I mean fucking hell. I’m finished, right. |
| To Verstappen: | We are finished. |
| Verstappen: | Yeah they’re such wankers, honestly. Everybody is just lining up and they’re just fucking it up. They’re just trying to be nice but everybody is just fucking it up. |
| To Verstappen: | Make sure you save this tyre set please, Max. |
| To Verstappen: | OK box, Max, box. We probably as you expect we got pipped by both Ferraris. Only needed a 31.8, it was there for the taking unfortunately. |
| Verstappen: | Yep. |
| To Verstappen: | Make sure you go ignition P1 and then P0 please mate. |
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| To Hulkenberg: | So Vettel’s dropped back, you’ve got a four second gap behind now. He’s catching fast now. He’d going past you. Now you’ve got a four seconds gap to Max. |
| To Hulkenberg: | Gap to Vettel at the front it two seconds. |
| To Hulkenberg: | Vettel passes Verstappen One and a half, Verstappen in front, one and a half seconds, one second, one second. |
| To Hulkenberg: | Hulkenberg passes Verstappen Recharge off |
| To Gasly: | No time, nothing. B bal three. |
| Gasly: | Did I make it? |
| To Gasly: | Negative. Recharge on. Missed by three seconds. Verstappen missed as well and obviously the two Haas behind. |
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| To Grosjean: | We do not have the margin. 20 seconds to go. |
| To Grosjean: | 15 seconds |
| To Grosjean: | Five seconds. |
| Grosjean: | You must be kidding me. |
| To Magnussen: | OK so let’s catch up on that group at the front. We’re a little tight on time but we’ll be fine. |
| To Magnussen: | Gasly passes Magnussen. You’ve got eight second to start the lap, should be fine. Push to get to start the lap. |
| Magnussen: | What the fuck? |
| To Magnussen: | We didn’t make it. |
| Magnussen: | Fucking hell. Fuck. |
| To Magnussen: | OK. Sorry man. Press the ‘in’ button. |
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hahostolze (@hahostolze)
13th April 2019, 9:41
I love love love that little nudge from Verstappen’s engineer. Stop moaning and try. You would have made it. I don’t get why he didn’t still push to make the flag. Better to try a slightly compromised lap than no lap.
CarWars (@maxv)
13th April 2019, 10:48
He knows what a compromised lap means, ergo, don’t bother trying.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
13th April 2019, 11:35
Vettel had to gas the final sector on his out lap and still improved by two tenths. It’s definitely worth it.
Winger
13th April 2019, 13:20
That pack was too tight and too slow/too late. Max didn’t even knew how many seconds were left. If he knew he would have done the same thing as Vettel he said.
Sihrtogg (@sihrtogg)
14th April 2019, 0:45
The replay clip timing of the radio and the video footage is not aligned. This is a common misconception. It was edited. ‘We are finished’ was said when he passed start-finish, not when it was played in the replay.
John H (@john-h)
13th April 2019, 9:55
Usual behaviour of teams leaving it to the last minute in the session when track conditions are near as identical 5 minutes earlier. Some things never change in F1.
Nitzo (@webtel)
13th April 2019, 11:55
@john-h
Somethign that’s is also perhaps unusual is Merc’s slow out-lap–2 full minutes.
There were at the front of all others. Could they have gone faster to avoid all this confusion.?
Lums (@lums)
13th April 2019, 15:44
Why should Merc be concerned for other teams strategy. They all should have released their cars before Merc did.
It’s fine details like this that win Merc championships. Fine details.
Joao (@johnmilk)
13th April 2019, 10:00
First time that Vettel looked alive for a while. Reminded me of that time he overtook a couple of cars in the pitlane.
But imagine if he had spun. That would have been funny as hell
Phylyp (@phylyp)
13th April 2019, 10:01
Give him time, it’s not yet Sunday. @johnmilk
Joao (@johnmilk)
13th April 2019, 10:04
Sorry I get excited on race weekends
Todfod (@todfod)
13th April 2019, 10:27
@johnmilk
He generally spins when someone else is overtaking him.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
13th April 2019, 10:51
@todfod Japan and Austin 2018 say hi ;)
Todfod (@todfod)
13th April 2019, 11:13
Austin I thought Ricciardo was overtaking him. I agree about Japan though @mashiat
Mashiat (@mashiat)
15th April 2019, 10:11
@todfod Well, depends which way you look at it from in Austin. Vettel was overtaking Ricciardo, overshot the corner and let Ricciardo alongside, then they made contact at the following corner, where Ricciardo was on the outside and slightly ahead.
Jere (@jerejj)
13th April 2019, 10:42
@johnmilk Technically, he didn’t overtake them in the pit lane, though, as it happened before the starting point of the pit-limiter zone.
Joao (@johnmilk)
13th April 2019, 11:52
Doesn’t the pitlane include that section of track before the pit limit? I think it does.
Still you understood what I meant
Lums (@lums)
13th April 2019, 15:45
Buzzkill much! You know what he meant lol
Todfod (@todfod)
13th April 2019, 10:26
Crazy how teams don’t realise that every driver that has made it to Q3, will find the ‘optimal’ time to go out on track. Generally, all teams will have the same time they consider ‘optimal’. So to play it safe, maybe they should send drivers out slightly early. Really amateurish thinking at times.. I’d expect this of Haas, but Red Bull messing this up is really unexpected.
Jere (@jerejj)
13th April 2019, 10:43
@todfod Indeed. Had the concerned teams sent their drivers out 30 seconds earlier then none of this would’ve happened.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
13th April 2019, 10:31
Its like when you leave for work too late and arrive too late. You don’t wonder “how the hell that happened, it’s impossible!!”, You just left late, mate. Next time, leave earlier. And stop fricking complaining about everything…
Teams and drivers know full well that everyone leaves at the same time to benefit from the best track conditions. And the clock is there for all to see. I fail to understand what’s so difficult and complex that they get so angry about missing out… Baffling.
Jere (@jerejj)
13th April 2019, 10:44
@fer-no65 I couldn’t agree more.
Jan-Marten Spit
13th April 2019, 11:36
Yes, i agree that Vettel left the pits too late and snaked his way out of his mistake – at the expense of those that left in time.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
13th April 2019, 12:53
Had they left in time they’d have made it regardless.
bosyber (@bosyber)
13th April 2019, 16:23
What @fer-no65 said, and also, when did being gentlemanly stop Max Verstappen from doing anything before when he thought it mattered? Either way, Red Bull and driver failed at getting that lap in when they could have been there. Next time better.
BlackJackFan
13th April 2019, 17:45
Are you incapable of stopping your boring, repetitive tirade…?
GtisBetter (@)
13th April 2019, 10:42
Don’t blame other people for something you have total control of, Max
CarWars (@maxv)
13th April 2019, 10:53
And later we will blame Max for not being a gentleman (obeying unwritten rule) and messing people up like Vettel did. Ah well “the internet”.
ColdFly (@)
13th April 2019, 11:16
It’s the team deciding when a car leaves the pit, and how fast to drive on the warm-up.
It was even the team which told him to leave 5sec to Leclerc (which allowed Vettel through) and then again.
The team should have told him to stay in front of Vettel even if this means less than 5sec to Leclerc.
But at least he has an extra set of softs; not sure if he needs it though as he’s starting on mediums.
erikje
13th April 2019, 13:08
like merc team said to Bottas, “do not let cars pass you”
bosyber (@bosyber)
13th April 2019, 16:24
Yep. I still feel it is mostly the team failing. But why wasn’t max keeping himself aware of how much latitude he had, and acted accordingly?
charlie (@dorisrcharlie)
13th April 2019, 13:46
“It’s the team deciding when a car leaves the pit, and how fast to drive on the warm-up.” – No, it is the team that decides when to leave the pits, but not how (fast) to drive in your outlap.
“It was even the team which told him to leave 5sec to Leclerc (which allowed Vettel through) and then again.” – They repeatedly told him to “GO”. He didn’t heed.
charlie (@dorisrcharlie)
13th April 2019, 11:15
This guy keeps on blundering his way through F1 and keeps on blaming others for 90% of his messes. And his fans blaming others as usual too. VET didn’t break any rule, written or unwritten. He was being held up by one-track-max. Was he supposed to just let him deny him a 2nd run? He still barely made it FCOL.
And RBR didn’t send him too late out. He was 5th or 6th coming out of the pits, slowing down VET and the RENs. I bet some of the guys down at RBR are pretty fed up at times with this guy. They’re always coaching him as much as possible, urging him to step up “NOWWW”, but he still manages to thwart them. Aside his own lap, he also prevented GAS from doing one.
After VET decided he didn’t want to lose any time by his hands and overtook him, he came on the radio and started yelling and rambling, allowing the two RENs to pass him. And both of the RENs still managed to do a FLap, with RIC even improving on his time and position.
This guy’s unbelieveable. VET said that “it felt like others were not aware.” How true this is wrt max. He doesn’t handle non-standard circumstances very well. His level of awareness inside the car is way below average and his only trait that only matches top drivers, is quali speed.
Sihrtogg (@sihrtogg)
14th April 2019, 0:44
The replay clip timing of the radio and the video footage is not aligned. This is a common misconception. It was edited. ‘We are finished’ was said when he passed start-finish, not when it was played in the replay.
Lenny (@leonardodicappucino)
13th April 2019, 11:25
Was the Merc outlap unusually slowly? cause it’s the only explanation I can find for this mess up that doesn’t leave multiple teams (RB, Ferrari, Renault, Haas) looking amateurish. (I included both Ferrari and Renault because they sent Vettel and Hulk out late as well, but those two just about managed to save it
Nitzo (@webtel)
13th April 2019, 11:52
@leonardodicappucino
Mate, you are not wrong.
Mercs took 2 full minutes (plus/minus 2 seconds) for the out-lap.
I am not sure if its unusually slow but they sure could have been faster. And i am just starting to think if Mercs were the slow engine and unfortunately the last four cars couldn’t make it.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
13th April 2019, 20:24
Though they can do it in 1’31.5. Is 2 minutes that bad for a lap in power save mode?
erikje
13th April 2019, 13:09
if so, they successfully screwed up the other teams. So tactical a smart decision ;)
David BR (@david-br)
13th April 2019, 16:36
So basically FIA want a Q4 when the teams still can’t handle three sessions without messing up the timing.
Ram
13th April 2019, 22:09
Made my day :)