Top 10 F1 Team Radio Messages of the 2014 Season
With the end of the Formula One season, it is time to look back and reflect on a great year of racing and less-great behind-the-scenes drama. More importantly, though, it is time for some fun—ranking the best team radio messages of the season.
The criteria are unchanged from last year's highly scientific exercise and include:
- the overall impact/importance of the message,
- how unique the message was, and
- whether the message was funny/entertaining/dramatic.
Unlike last year, however, messages from free practice and qualifying were also eligible for inclusion in the rankings.
Here we go!
Honourable Mentions
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A few messages were close to making the cut, but just missed out because they weren't quite funny enough, important enough to the storyline of the season or they were just not unique.
First there was Adrian Sutil, who had his best qualifying result of the season in Austin before he was taken out by Sergio Perez on the first lap. Asked if he could continue, Sutil's reply was short and direct, per F1 Fanatic and ESPN F1. "No," he said. "F-----g Perez just kicked me off the track. OK."
But people are always getting mad at Perez for one incident or another, so this one doesn't make the top 10.
Kimi Raikkonen gets an honourable mention for telling his team in Australia, per ESPN F1, "At the moment we have an issue with the radio, because I cannot hear you."
Usually, such a malfunction would make Raikkonen perfectly happy, so the shock value of his complaint earns him an honourable mention, but it is not up to the standard of some of his previous messages. Amazingly, though, he did not make the top 10 this year, so we had to get him in here somehow.
Prince Harry also gets an honourable mention for his message to Lewis Hamilton after the British driver clinched his second world championship with a victory in Abu Dhabi. According to ESPN F1, the prince said, "Lewis, you're an absolute legend. Well done mate."
Hey, it's not everyday a prince calls you a legend.
But now, on to the Top 10!
10. Water, Water Everywhere...
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Early in the season, there was talk that some drivers were dehydrating themselves to save weight during qualifying or the races. Jenson Button said, "Some guys are struggling. [Adrian] Sutil is struggling with weight and I am sure they are dehydrating themselves, because that is what I was going to do," according to The Telegraph's Daniel Jonhson.
By the time of the Singapore Grand Prix, the longest and one of the hottest races of the season, the drivers had water, but some couldn't drink it.
Daniil Kvyat's drinking system malfunctioned and he could not get any water through his straw. Eventually, he told the team, per ESPN F1, "I need to stop. I need a drink, I'm dying here!"
Meanwhile, Kevin Magnussen's water system was working, but the water, and his seat, were too hot for him. "My seat is really hot, it's burning!" he complained, according to ESPN F1. "It's too hot, I can't drink it—it just burns my mouth!"
Definitely dramatic and a little bit funny (since both drivers ended up being OK), these messages were certainly not something you hear every day.
9. Romain Grosjean: A Compilation
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Romain Grosjean finished 2013 with four podiums in the last six races and Lotus were fourth in the constructors' standings. The 2014 season was a different story.
Plagued with issues from the first day of pre-season testing, the team and their unreliable, underpowered Renault engines finished in the points just three times all season. Grosjean managed the team's best finishes—eighth in Spain and Monaco—bit he did not score again from June to the end of the season.
His ongoing frustration was evident through the radio messages fans heard each time his car let him down. Combined, they got him on our list.
In Malaysia, per ESPN F1, he complained, "The rear of the car is a disaster."
At the Austrian Grand Prix, he asked, ""Are you sure there is nothing wrong with the car? It doesn't feel right," according to ESPN F1.
At the next race, the British Grand Prix, he was more direct, telling the team during free practice, "The car is really, really bad," per ESPN F1.
According to ESPN F1, in Germany, following another retirement, Grosjean could only manage, "Unbelievable. What's happened now?"
At the Hungaroring, after qualifying behind Adrian Sutil's Sauber—another car that struggled this season—Grosjean was not impressed. "So, we couldn't even beat Sutil?" he asked the team, per ESPN F1.
Finally, in Singapore, Grosjean's frustration boiled over in what, by itself, is one of the best messages of the season. "I cannot believe it!" he complained during qualifying, per ESPN F1. "Bloody engine! Bloody engine!"
"It's the same problem we had in Q1," he continued.
"I don't care, I don't care. It's too much...we break our balls to make a good qualifying and you lose five-tenths every single straight line."
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8. Menu Magic?
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An F1 steering wheel has a ton of knobs and buttons to allow the driver to control all of the car's advanced systems. Sometimes, though, they can be more confusing than helpful.
That was the case for Lewis Hamilton at the German Grand Prix, when his race engineer Peter Bonnington asked him to choose a certain setting for his pit stop.
"OK Lewis, if we go to menu magic, position one," Bonnington said, according to F1 Fanatic. "Menu magic, position one. Menu magic, position one. There’s no rush, this is just for the pit stop."
"I’ve never heard of that switch. Which one…" Hamilton began to reply.
"OK, don’t worry about it mate," Bonnington interrupted. "Don’t worry about it. Just leave it."
This message makes our list purely for its comedy value, although it does illustrate just how hard the drivers are working in the cars, both mentally and physically.
7. You Want Me to Do What with the Fuel?
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Fuel-saving was a major theme of the 2014 season. With each car limited to 100 kilograms per race, there were many times when drivers were marginal on fuel, and they were constantly being reminded to manage their pace.
The best fuel-related message came during the German Grand Prix, though, when Vettel was confused about what he was being asked to do.
"Sebastian, we need a little bit more fuel," his race engineer Guillaume Rocquelin told him on Lap 42, per F1 Fanatic. "A little bit more fuel."
"Tell me what you want," Vettel responded. "Do you want me to pass or you want to save fuel, like a duck?"
"We just need a little bit more fuel," he was told. "Target plus 02. Respect the beeps in turn 13."
By Lap 66, it was clear that Vettel still did not understand the fuel situation.
"Fuel now minus zero two. We need more and more fuel saving, Sebastian," Rocquelin told him.
"Yeah, I’m burning all I have," Vettel replied.
"We need to save fuel!" Rocquelin cried in disbelief. "We need to save fuel!"
Vettel did make it to the end, finishing fourth, and then apologized to the team for the misunderstanding. "Well done, Sebby," team principal Christian Horner told him.
6. Which One's the Brake, Again?
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At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg, a veteran of more than 150 grands prix, asked his team for, "Some advice please?" according to ESPN F1.
"On traffic?" asked his race engineer, Tony Ross.
"No, on driving!" Rosberg replied.
This message did not make the list because it is funny or interesting, but rather because it seems so out of place.
Now, teams are always giving their drivers bits of advice on where they can improve or whether they need to preserve their tyres or fuel, among other things, but there seemed to be a lot more of it this season. The FIA reacted with a ban on driver coaching, which was later dialled back, slightly.
Overall, the ban should be positive for the sport, although implementing it in the middle of a season was not the right way to do it.
5. Felipe, Another Team-Mate Is Faster Than You
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At the 2010 German Grand Prix—when team orders were still banned in F1—Felipe Massa received a radio message that, "Fernando is faster than you." It was code to allow his team-mate Fernando Alonso to pass him, which he did.
Ferrari were punished, but the message came to represent Massa's last years at Ferrari—always the bridesmaid to Alonso's bride.
After moving to Williams for the start of the 2014 season, Massa was leading his new team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, at the Malaysian Grand Prix when his race engineer Rob Smedley used a poor choice of words in asking Massa to let the young Finn through.
According to ESPN F1, he said, "OK Felipe, Valtteri is faster than you, do not hold him up."
Understandably, Massa was not in a hurry to comply. In fact, he held Bottas off for the remainder of the race, with the two drivers finishing seventh and eighth.
Not only was the message funny (in a dark way), but Massa's response was the correct one. He showed his new team that he would not roll over...that he still was still ready to fight.
4. Going Down Fighting
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When Hamilton won five straight races from Italy to the United States, he seemed destined for the title. But Rosberg's victory in Brazil, the penultimate race, gave the German hope.
In Abu Dhabi, Rosberg qualified on pole, but, even with a victory, he needed Hamilton to finish third or lower to claim the championship. That looked unlikely when Hamilton jumped ahead of Rosberg at the start, but there was still a chance that Hamilton could make a mistake or have reliability problems with his car.
Approaching the halfway point in the race, though, it was Rosberg's car that had an issue. His energy recovery system failed and he started to drop back through the field.
Desperately trying to hang on, the car seemed to be slowly shutting down. With two laps remaining, the team asked him to retire, but Rosberg responded, "I'd like to go to the end, please," according to ESPN F1.
Mercedes agreed and Rosberg finished the race. It was a fitting end to a title fight where both drivers repeatedly refused to back down and it demonstrated Rosberg's strong, determined character. The battle will continue in 2015!
3. More Problems at McLaren
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With Jenson Button's tyres fading at the U.S. Grand Prix, the team pushed his planned pit stop back one lap to bring Kevin Magnussen in ahead of him. Button ended up losing three places on that lap, as he struggled to maintain grip.
When the team finally did bring him in, he asked, ""Are you sure I can come in? Anybody else you want me to let through?" per ESPN F1.
This quote ranks highly because it shows Button at his sarcastic best (in the middle of a stressful race), but it also summed up another disappointing season at McLaren. The team have not won a race since 2012 and it is conceivable that they will fail to win again next season, as the team breaks in its new Honda power units.
2. Tough Luck
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Sebastian Vettel and team orders are not a good mix. It began with the multi 21 fiasco in Malaysia in 2013, but spilled over with a new team-mate into the 2014 season.
Last year, Mark Webber was leading the Malaysian race, but Vettel ignored an order to stay behind him, stealing the victory.
This year, the tables were turned. In Bahrain, Vettel was leading his new team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, but the team asked him to move aside, which he did.
Two weeks later, in China, Vettel refused a similar request. "Sebastian, let Ricciardo through," came the order from Vettel's race engineer, per F1 Fanatic. "Let Daniel through please."
"Which tyre is he on?" Vettel asked.
"Primes, but he stopped later than you," came the answer.
"Tough luck," Vettel replied.
Although he did eventually let Ricciardo through, the team orders helped set the tone for the season. Ricciardo thoroughly beat his more experienced team-mate, likely playing a role in Vettel's decision to move to Ferrari for 2015.
1. Hammer Time!
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Coming into the Austrian Grand Prix, Hamilton was 22 points behind Rosberg, having just retired from the Canadian Grand Prix. Mistakes in qualifying meant that Hamilton started six places behind his team-mate at the Red Bull Ring.
During the race, though, Hamilton performed well and was in position to challenge Rosberg in the middle of the race when his race engineer, Peter Bonnington, told him, "OK Lewis, it's hammer time," per F1 Fanatic.
Hamilton closed in, but Rosberg hung on to win by just under two seconds. The Brit carried his momentum into the next race, though, winning his home grand prix at Silverstone. After Austria, Hamilton won seven races to Rosberg's two on the way to his second drivers' title—hammer time, indeed!
This message tops our list because it has the potential to transcend this season and become an all-time classic—like Kimi Raikkonen's, "Just leave me alone, I know what I'm doing."
You can bet that, at any time in the future when Hamilton needs to push, you will hear "hammer time," if not from the team, then from the TV commentators.
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