5 of the Most Interesting Radio Messages from Chinese Grand Prix
Team radio messages are usually nothing more than mere accessories across Formula One grand prix weekends.
They offer hints about how a race will unfold and offer an insight on the drivers' mindsets as they compete at mind-blowing speeds, but are rarely integral to the show.
That theory was proven wrong over the Chinese Grand Prix as Nico Rosberg, the runner-up in last year's drivers' championship, opted to do his talking over the intercom rather than the track, sowing the seeds of the latest civil war at Mercedes.
Rosberg's unhappiness with team-mate Lewis Hamilton dominated both the headlines and radio waves at the Shanghai International Circuit, with Red Bull Racing's Daniil Kvyat and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen also using the intercom in very different ways to try and get the edge over their team-mates.
With a look at Nico Hulkenberg letting his Force India team down gently for the second race running, here are the five most interesting radio messages from the Chinese GP.
Nico Rosberg Accuses Lewis Hamilton of Driving Too Slowly
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The power of team radio was there for all to hear on Sunday as the biggest talking point of the Chinese Grand Prix played out before our very ears.
At the start of the second stint, when the top three were covered by just four seconds, second-placed Nico Rosberg embodied his team's concerns over the pace of Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel.
Seemingly convinced that his Mercedes team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, was deliberately driving slowly in the aim of backing him into the Ferrari and making him vulnerable to the undercut pit stop tactic, Rosberg urged the team to encourage Hamilton to raise his pace.
According to the world television feed, Rosberg said, "Lewis is driving very slowly, so get him to speed up," before elaborating the following lap, stating: "If I go closer, I destroy my tyres like in the first stint. That's the problem."
Immediately after Rosberg's second message was broadcast, Hamilton's race engineer, Peter Bonnington, got on his driver's case, stumbling over his words as he said: "OK Lewis. Er, we maybe like to pick the pace up a little bit. So, target (laps of one minute) 43.7 (seconds)."
Bonnington, rather surprisingly, later threatened Hamilton on Lap 27 by offering Rosberg a preferential strategy, commenting: "OK Lewis, so minimum target lap time, 43.3, otherwise we may have to stop Nico first."
Despite a one-two finish for Mercedes, this series of radio messages between the team and their drivers was a precursor for Rosberg's post-race meltdown, when he, as per Sky Sports' Pete Gill and Mike Wise, declared: "It was a fact my race was compromised."
Should Hamilton's and Rosberg's 2015 rivalry prove to be as ferociously competitive as their scrap for the 2014 crown, these radio messages will be remembered as the moment when things turned nasty between the Mercedes drivers.
Nico Rosberg Orders Race Engineer to Reduce Radio Chat
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The top-three drivers in the Chinese Grand Prix made their opening pit stops over a three-lap period.
With Sebastian Vettel the first to enter the pit lane on Lap 13 as Ferrari tried to undercut the Mercedes pair, the reigning world champions covered the German by pitting Lewis Hamilton, the leader, and second-placed Nico Rosberg on Laps 14 and 15 respectively.
As the grand prix settled back into its rhythm, Rosberg's race engineer, Tony Ross, offered to provide his driver with the low-down on how the race was looking at the start of the second stint—but was interrupted mid-sentence.
On Lap 18, Ross, according to the television feed, said: "So Nico, the gap to Lewis in front (is) 2.6 (seconds). Gap to Vettel behind—"
"OK Tony, now you need to reduce the communication please," came the intervention. "I can see Lewis, I know where I am, I know what I have to do for now."
Although this interaction could be interpreted as yet more evidence of race engineers stating the obvious—as is often the case—it is arguably as, if not more, revealing about Rosberg's current state of mind as are his complaints about Hamilton's pace.
Nico, after all, thrives on detailed information. He's the type of driver who relentlessly studies the telemetry, who stays in the engineers' office until the cleaners arrive and who reads the race as much as he drives it.
His reliance on data, knowing what's happening around him, has always been his biggest asset, but since a crackdown on team radio was introduced in mid-2014 Rosberg has been found to be a little too dependent on receiving mid-race information.
Could his request for Ross to limit his communication, therefore, be a conscious effort to move away from his cerebral approach? Or was Rosberg already showing signs of irritation less than 20 laps into a 56-lap race?
Daniil Kvyat Refuses to Follow Red Bull Instructions
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Red Bull's 2014 Chinese Grand Prix was defined by a "team orders" squabble, with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel unwilling to move aside for Daniel Ricciardo.
Vettel may have fled to Ferrari for 2015, but judging by Sunday's race at the Shanghai International Circuit, intra-team relations remain inhospitable.
As early as Lap 5, Kvyat headed a group of cars made up of Ricciardo and the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, when he received a radio message from the pit wall.
Kvyat's race engineer, as per the TV feed, said: "OK Danny, you have Daniel behind, OK, Ricciardo behind. Do not fight him. We're on different strategies. We are on different strategies."
The Russian driver did not offer a reply, but the silence—along with his on-track conduct—spoke volumes.
In the space of four corners, twice Ricciardo made an attempt to get past and twice Kvyat shut the door, aggressively chopping his team-mate and forcing the Australian wide at Turn 1.
Although Ricciardo did eventually make the move stick halfway around the sixth lap, Kvyat's blatant unwillingness to simply give up the position—14th position—offered an insight to the pressure the 20-year-old is under just three races into his first season with the four-time title-winning team.
The severely under-powered, unreliable RB11 car has hardly helped matters, but Kvyat has generally driven scruffily in the opening phase of the season. No surprise, then, that he was eager to put up a fight when the opportunity arose.
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Kimi Raikkonen Unhappy with Traffic in Pursuit of Sebastian Vettel
4 of 5Kimi Raikkonen was destroyed by Fernando Alonso at Ferrari last year, finishing a massive 106 points behind the two-time world champion in the drivers' standings.
Raikkonen, then, would have taken great pleasure in lapping the Spaniard in the latter stages of the Chinese Grand Prix and wasn't prepared to let Alonso stop the Finn catching his 2015 team-mate, Sebastian Vettel.
Radio Raikkonen was a one-way system for much of the Shanghai race as the 2007 world champion's new race engineer, former Marussia man Dave Greenwood, fed his driver information without receiving a response.
Kimi, though, came alive in the midst of his late pursuit of Vettel, radioing the team twice between Laps 43 and 46, above, to ensure Alonso, and then the dueling duo of Pastor Maldonado and Jenson Button, didn't halt his progress.
As well as being up there with his famous "leave me alone" radio message of Abu Dhabi 2012 in terms of comedy value, his comments perhaps offered an insight into how anxious Raikkonen is to beat Vettel on equal terms, having failed to get the better of the German at the start of 2015 despite some decent performances.
Although Raikkonen cleared Alonso, Maldonado and Button, the late safety car to retrieve Max Verstappen's stricken Toro Rosso prevented the Finnish driver from challenging Vettel and prevented a potential team orders commotion at Ferrari.
For a driver whose motivation is frequently called into question, it seems Raikkonen needs no incentive to beat his team-mate this year and won't let anyone—not even Alonso—get in his way.
Nico Hulkenberg Breaks the Bad News to Force India
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Nico Hulkenberg has always been one of the coolest customers on the grid when it comes to team radio.
While some drivers mumble or shout messages to their teams, the German speaks clearly and calmly as though he's enjoying a leisurely Sunday drive.
But over the last two races, the German has sounded ever-so-slightly unnerved over the intercom, akin to a toddler wary of reporting news about a broken toy to his parents.
In Malaysia, Hulkenberg, as per the TV feed, preceded a message about his struggles with tyre degradation with the age-old blow-softener, "Guys, I know you don't like to hear this, but..."
And in China, upon pulling to the side of the track after suffering a terminal gearbox problem after 10 laps, the German was heard over the live feed saying: "Oh—I lost the gearbox. Something bad happened."
In a very businesslike sport, it's amusing, endearing even, to hear a driver report a problem in a round-the-houses, apologetic fashion.
Further proof, perhaps, that Hulkenberg is the most humble, considerate driver in F1. Either that or his Force India bosses, Vijay Mallya and Bob Fernley, are much scarier than we ever imagined.
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