2014 British GP qualifying team radio transcript

2014 British Grand Prix

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The ever-changing conditions during qualifying for the British Grand Prix could hardly have been better designed to test the skills of the drivers – and their strategists – to the limit.

Occasional flurries of rain made for volatile track conditions which made judging which tyre to use extremely difficult. It led to some surprise eliminations in Q1 including both Williams and Ferrari drivers.

In Q2 Romain Grosjean and Max Chilton believed they could have gone faster had it not been for the double waved yellow flags at Luffield after Esteban Gutierrez crashed his Sauber.

But the biggest surprise of all came in Q3, where several drivers made significant gains in lap time despite being slower through the first two sectors. Jenson Button was tipped off about the potential to gain time in sector three, which was a message Lewis Hamilton could have done with hearing as he abandoned his final flying effort after just four corners.

He had picked his way past Sergio Perez on the out-lap and Force India were unimpressed their driver had lost his place in the queue. He failed to begin his last lap in time and dropped four places to seventh as a result.

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2014 British Grand Prix qualifying team radio transcript

PhaseTimeFromToMessage
Q118:00Gary GannonMax ChiltonOK Max, so we’ll send you down to the end of the pit lane. There’s about one minute ’til the green. One minute until the green. So wait at the end of the pit lane.
Q117:01Craig GardinerEsteban GutierrezWe’ll target a constant SOC [state of charge] – so constant pushing, no charging lap.
Q1Esteban GutierrezCraig GardinerOK, so this first corner seems pretty dry…
Q116:09Simon RennieDaniel RicciardoEverybody’s on Inters.
Q1Peter BonningtonLewis HamiltonNo sync in first gear.
Q1Lewis HamiltonPeter BonningtonTrack is very dry.
Q114:00Nico RosbergTony RossI mean, it’s really dry out here at the moment, except for turn eight.
Q1Tony RossNico RosbergCopy, copy. Do you want to do just one timed lap to get a lap in and then box for hards? Should just get a lap on board, Nico. So just prepare for a lap, Nico. Go for ‘deploy’, so will be strat five.
Q111:59Gianpiero LambiaseSergio PerezSo Checo, for your information, we have more rain. We have more rain on the pit wall. Very light, but it is raining again on the pit wall.
Q111:35Jenson ButtonDave RobsonThe rears need to cool down.
Q1Dave RobsonJenson ButtonYeah, let’s cool the tyres down. Look for the wet patches.
Q110:56Lewis HamiltonPeter BonningtonIf the weather stays just as it is, I think it should be slicks. If we can get the temperatures up.
Q1Peter BonningtonLewis HamiltonYep, we agree with you there Lewis.
Q18:05Nico RosbergTony RossI mean, there are some corners where it’s still difficult. So, err, don’t you think better [medium tyre] maybe? What is the downside of going [medium]?
Q1Tony RossNico RosbergThe only downside Nico is that if it doesn’t rain, we won’t have a new set for the race.
Q17:45Tony RossNico RosbergOK, we’re going to go [medium] tyre. So we’ll pull back into the garage, Nico and fit [medium] and just discuss our settings.
Q17:33Kevin MagnussenMark TempleWe’re not going to go quicker on these tyres. They’re gone.
Q1Mark TempleKevin MagnussenOK. We think it might be ready for dry tyres at the end, so we don’t want to pit too soon and lose temperature. So let’s try and go once more past and try and keep temperature in the brakes.
Q15:55Tim WrightKamui KobayashiBox, box, Kamui. Box, box. We have an issue, we will have to go back into the garage. Box, box.
Q15:08Dave RobsonJenson ButtonOK Jenson, so all the cars we are competing against are on Medium tyres.
Q14:40Marco MatassaDaniil KvyatOK Dany, good warm-up on tyres. Good warm-up on tyres and brakes.
Q13:51Peter BonningtonLewis HamiltonOK Lewis, caution on pit exit. It’s quite slippy.
Q13:28Simon RennieDaniel RicciardoOK Daniel, you’re going to get one timed lap on medium tyres. One timed lap on medium tyres.
Q11:38Jenson ButtonDave RobsonWhy is my DRS not working?
Q1Dave RobsonJenson ButtonOK Jenson, it has been disabled. The system has been disabled. Jenson, you did go off the track, so we need another timed lap. We need to make another one count, Jenson.
Q1Jenson ButtonDave RobsonYeah, I went off the track because I had traffic in front!
Q11:04Guillaume RocquelinSebastian VettelOK Sebastian, mode seven, mode seven. People are still improving. Mode seven to start your timed lap.
Q10:00Daniel RicciardoSimon RennieReally wet, the second sector. Can’t improve.
Q1Simon RennieDaniel RicciardoOK, understood.
Q10:00Marco SchupbachAdrian SutilSutil has spun off.
Can you continue, Adrian? Try to continue.
Q1Adrian SutilMarco SchupbachNo! No… Stucked [sic].
Q10:00Marcus EricssonAngel BaenaEricsson also went off during Q1.
I tried to give you my all on the slicks, but… Difficult. It was different wet at different parts of the track. Need to improve a bit but, yeah… that’s what it is.
Q10:00Kimi RaikkonenDavid LloydIt’s still wet, I almost lost it.
Q10:00Andrew MurdochFelipe MassaWe’re P18, Felipe. We’re P18.
Q10:00Jonathan EddolllsValtteri BottasSo, Valtteri. Unfortunately, P17. Massa P18, so we’re out. Both Ferraris got knocked-out as well. Not our day… So box straight back into the garage.
Q1Valtteri BottasJonathan EddolllsUnbelievable…
Q215:00Gary GannonMax ChiltonWe’re P7 and we’re currently in for Q2.
Q215:00Francesco NenciJules BianchiWe should be in, Jules. We should be in, OK?
Q215:00Gary GannonMax ChiltonOK Max, we’ll be queueing again, so wait for the green.
Q214:51Craig GardinerEsteban GutierrezRemember the mediums are two-plus-three. Or all eight in a row.
Q214:25Xevi PujolarJean-Eric VergneOK Jev, track is clear. We can do three timed and two timed.
Q213:02Dave RobsonJenson ButtonOK Jenson, currently 13 cars on track. Everybody is on a new inter. Car in front in Perez, he’s got a reasonable gap ahead. You’ve got a ten second gap behind to Hulkenberg, who’s on an out-lap.
Q212:23Nico RosbergTony RossErr.. Track is inter at the moment. Yeah, a little bit wet here also.
Q2Tony RossNico RosbergCopy, copy.
Q211:56Gary GannonMax ChiltonJules’s first sector was .5 quicker. First sector, Jules, .5 quicker.
Q211:22Max ChiltonGary GannonCar’s loose, front-end.
Q2Gary GannonMax ChiltonUnderstood, Max. Understood. Go to diff-4. Diff-4.
Q29:51Daniel RicciardoSimon RennieYeah, it’s drying up pretty quickly. It’s still more damp than it was before. But it’s drying up pretty quick. Tyres are OK for now.
Q2Simon RennieDaniel RicciardoOK, so look after the tyres this lap. We’ll go for one more.
Q27:48Peter BonningtonLewis HamiltonSo Lewis, confirm – do you want to go to slicks now, or do you want to leave it another couple of laps?
Q2Lewis HamiltonPeter BonningtonI think we should come in now.
Q26:20Guillaume RocquelinSebastian VettelSebastian, some cars are coming in for dries. Pit this lap, pit this lap. Your fastest lap has been deleted.
Q2Sebastian VettelGuillaume RocquelinYeah… box.
Q2Guillaume RocquelinSebastian VettelPress ‘reverse’ if you can. Press ‘reverse’.
Q26:03Simon RennieDaniel RicciardoWhat do you think about the track?
Q2Daniel RicciardoSimon RennieYeah, it’s started to dry out again. Think we can have a crack on slicks.
Q2Simon RennieDaniel RicciardoYeah, understood. We will pit stop now for slicks.
Q2Daniel RicciardoSimon RennieDo you want me to push on this lap?
Q2Simon RennieDaniel RicciardoYeah, keep up the pace, please. Keep up the pace.
Q24:59Dave RobsonJenson ButtonOK Jenson, tyre switch purple R1, please. Tyre switch purple R1. OK Jenson, quick as you can please. Quick as you can.
Q2Jenson ButtonDave RobsonYes Dave.
Q23:34Lewis HamiltonPeter BonningtonHow are people finding the first lap?
Q2Peter BonningtonLewis HamiltonOK so Nico’s finding time, but it’s not a lot. He’s found a tenth in sector one… and he’s gone purple sector two, so looks like sector two is improving a lot. Bianchi’s now gone purple sector one, a second quicker. So your diff is fully locked through turn one, you may want diff high speed four, have a think about that.
Q21:05Brad JoyceNico HulkenbergKeep pushing, keep pushing.
Q20:55Gary GannonMax ChiltonSo .1 slower than Jules, all middle sector, Max. You’re quicker in the last sector and quicker in the first sector, your delta to Jules is all in the middle sector.
Q20:00Guillaume RocquelinSebastian VettelSo to confirm, pit this lap mate. The DRS has been disabled, so I don’t think you’ll improve. You’re currently P3.
Q20:00Max ChiltonGary GannonGutierrez has crashed into the barriers at Luffield
It was a double-waved [yellow]! I had to do more than a lift!
Q2Gary GannonMax ChiltonYep, understood Max. You did the right thing. The chequered is out, so in now. In now.
Q2Max ChiltonGary GannonIt was a double-waved! You can’t be going quicker.
Q20:00Pastor MaldonadoMark SladeMaldonado stopped at Woodcote. He was later excluded from qualifying after his car was found to have too little fuel on board.
What happened there? Losing power.
Q2Mark SladePastor MaldonadoWe’ve lost fuel pressure, Pastor. We’ve lost fuel pressure. Stop the car please, Pastor. Stop the car please.
Q20:00Gary GannonMax ChiltonIf you’re still there, Max – so we’re P13. Excellent job. And you did the right thing on the yellows, you did what you had to do. And in now, Max. In now. Jules did not go quicker – he’s 38.71.
Q20:00Francesco NenciJules BianchiOK, it’s confirmed, we are P12. P12 is confirmed.
Q20:00Ayao KomatsuRomain GrosjeanOK Romain. Sorry – P11. Good effort though, good effort. Good effort mate, we missed it by… err… three tenths.
Q2Romain GrosjeanAyao KomatsuYeah, I lost four by the yellow flag!
Q2Ayao KomatsuRomain GrosjeanI think our planning was right though and you did a good job.
Q2Romain GrosjeanAyao KomatsuYeah and the car is feeling better than ever, so that’s good direction.
Q310:27Simon RennieDaniel RicciardoOK Daniel, so some advice – stay away from the limiter, third to fourth gear. We’re losing some performance, third to fourth gear upshifts, make sure you hit the lights.
Q310:16Marco MatassaDaniil KvyatGood work on tyres and brakes. Tyres and brakes. Don’t be too close to Jev. Jev is six seconds in front of you.
Q38:44Nico RosbergTony RossStarting to drizzle in Stowe…
Q3Tony RossNico RosbergCopy, copy.
Q37:39Sebastian VettelGuillaume RocquelinHeavy rain on the back straight. Heavy rain.
Q3Guillaume RocquelinSebastian VettelUnderstood, keep pushing. That could still be the best conditions.
Q3Sebastian VettelGuillaume RocquelinNo, I think inters is quicker. Honestly. But I’ll stay out for now.
Q37:10Jenson ButtonDave RobsonIt’s raining at Stowe. Let me know what other people do.
Q36:00Dave RobsonJenson ButtonOK Jenson, looks here like the rain has stopped. But we’re going to box this lap and we can sit in the garage and we’ll go at the end of the session.
Q3Jenson ButtonDave RobsonRoger.
Q33:35Brad JoyceNico HulkenbergSo we’re P8 at the moment, Nico. This next set of tyres has to go back anyway, so we might as well run.
Q31:49Guillaume RocquelinSebastian VettelUse your head, OK? Just have a look.
Q31:17Mark TempleKevin MagnussenWe can’t afford to back off too much as it will be very tight to get a timed lap. So keep up with the car in front and make a gap at the end.
Q30:36Lewis HamiltonPeter BonningtonIt’s pretty slippery out here…
Q3Peter BonningtonLewis HamiltonOK Lewis. If you don’t think you can do a lap, then let Nico go. Let Nico go. If you think you can complete the lap, then carry on as you are.
Q30:01Nico RosbergTony RossTell Lewis that he needs to speed up!
Q3Tony RossNico RosbergCopy, copy!
Q30:00Dave RobsonJenson ButtonOK Jenson, keep pushing. Keep pushing. There could be a lot of time to find in sector three.
Q30:00Gianpiero LambiaseSergio PerezPerez had begun his final out-lap in front of the Mercedes drivers but they overtook him at the exit of Stowe.
Checo… What happened, mate? We’re down to P7.
Q3Sergio PerezGianpiero Lambiase[sighs]
Q3Gianpiero LambiaseSergio PerezCheco, why did we let the cars through after Stowe? Why did we let the cars through after Stowe, mate?
Q3Sergio PerezGianpiero LambiaseBecause I had very cold tyres. I went off into Copse. I had no temperature to do the lap.
Q30:00Tony RossNico RosbergAnd that’s pole position! Well done, Nico! Go strat one, box, box, box. Really good job, really good job.
Q3Nico RosbergTony RossThat’s damn awesome! Come on!
Q30:00Guillaume RocquelinSebastian VettelP2! Atta boy!
Q3Sebastian VettelGuillaume RocquelinOK guys. Kept our heads cool. Good job. I tell you, this kind of rain… England is the only place in the world where you can see this! It’s not necessarily nice, but it’s unique.
Q30:00Lewis HamiltonPeter BonningtonThe track’s… slower.
Q3Peter BonningtonLewis HamiltonSo currently no one finding time, Lewis. So no one improving.
Q3Peter BonningtonLewis HamiltonNo reply broadcast.
OK Lewis, I’m afraid that last sector really picked up some pace. So we’ve been bumped mate to… so we’re now down in P6.
Q30:00Dave RobsonJenson ButtonWe are P3, JB. That’s a fantastic lap. Great job at the end there.
Q3Jenson ButtonDave RobsonHa! I know it’s not pole, but, [unclear], so good job guys!
Q3Dave RobsonJenson ButtonThat’s a magnificent effort, JB. That last sector was pretty damn good. So Rosberg, then Vettel, then yourself in third, Hulkenberg, Kevin in fifth, Hamilton sixth, so, yeah, we’ve got a few good scalps there. Great job!
Q30:00Brad JoyceNico HulkenbergGreat job, Nico! P4 with that, P4!
Q3Nico HulkenbergBrad JoyceReally? Jesus! Did everyone who run get out at the end, or not?
Q3Brad JoyceNico HulkenbergMost people did. Three cars didn’t. But that’s P4. P4. Great job mate.

Phase/time: Refers to point at which message was broadcast. There may be a delay between messages being said and being broadcast. PQ = pre-qualifying.
Message: Repetitive or irrelevant messages omitted. Notes in italics. Highlights in bold.

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17 comments on “2014 British GP qualifying team radio transcript”

  1. nice to know why Perez slowed up. Rosberg just had enough time to get his lap in. Funny to hear the Hulk’s reaction to 4th

  2. Watching that again, shocking how fast the last corners were, Vettel was down over 2 seconds 2/3 through the lap

  3. Hamilton’s race engineer also feels that, the track is slow. But when did he say this?

    1. It does look like that feed bacj from his race engineer may have influenced him backing off.
      The way the transmissions are listed is not in cronalogical order but rather for each driver as the time goes to 0:00. At a guess this conversation was in that first sector when then let risberg past. His race engineer should have said keep pushing.

      1. @theoddkiwi

        The way the transmissions are listed is not in cronalogical order

        They are in chronological order as far as is possible based on how they were broadcast. But as the messages are not broadcast in real time (unlike, for example, in IndyCar), it’s not possible to be specific about the exact order and timing of messages. Indeed, some could have been simultaneous.

  4. Great work as always!

    Interesting to hear Perez went off at Copse, didn’t catch that one (maybe because there was so much going on at the time).

  5. Interesting that Button’s engineer would see that time was being made up in sector 3, and urge his driver to keep pushing, while Hamilton’s man (at nearly the same moment, or possibly even afterwards?) told him that no one was improving. Obviously, Hamilton should have kept his foot down regardless, but maybe some bad info is partly to blame?

    1. The transmissions are anachronistic, cant really make any judgements based on this

  6. PB-> LH: ‘OK Lewis. If you don’t think you can do a lap, then let Nico go. Let Nico go. If you think you can complete the lap, then carry on as you are.’
    PB -> LH: ‘So currently no one finding time, Lewis. So no one improving.’
    DR -> JB: ‘OK Jenson, keep pushing. Keep pushing. There could be a lot of time to find in sector three.’
    GR-> SV: ‘Understood, keep pushing. That could still be the best conditions.’

    Rosberg was up two tenth in S1 (according to TV commentator), so the team knew the track is getting faster. S3 was 3/4 seconds faster, and that info was never passed to Lewis. If he was still on the track, even after deciding to abort (I assume in this case abort means not trying to go fast), Lewis could have gained 3/4 seconds in S3, PB should have asked him to push.

    Instead of Lewis saying he has made a mistake, his team must take the full responsibility for not acting in time IMHO.

    Instructions to JB (P3) and SV (P2) were spot on. Also, in the transcript no mention about any instruction to Rosberg, perhaps there wasn’t any!!! He just knew S3 was 3/4 seconds faster…but JB and SV needed help.

    1. I was wondering about that at the time. I guess Merc’s strategist didn’t realise it was a possibility. Nico thought of it himself (and didn’t feel like sharing ;) ), some of the other teams did, some didn’t.

      Ham should still have shadowed what his team-mate did though, pointless risk not to.

    2. The very message you quoted shows the decision was left to Hamilton, and at the time no-one had finished S3, so no-one knew it’d be worth 3-4 seconds.

      1. This is precisely my point, the fact that LH was left to make a decision (who had no knowledge of what’s happening to the rest of the track). Was NR asked to do the same? I doubt it! Other drivers (JB, SV), had no decision to make. They were told to push. Where LH made the mistake was to when PB said ‘…let Nico go. Let Nico go…’ (not once, but twice) he should have interpreted that as Mercedes is in danger of losing P1 and they wanted NR to get it. LH should have ignored the message and pushed harder.
        Even accepting the fact that no one knew about 3/4 secs gains, messages to JB and SV shows McLaren and RedBull were far more professional, in helping their drivers.

        To me, Mercedes couldn’t careless what position LH finished.

    3. It was a different story for Vettel altogether.

      He had not previously set a time, so nothing was loss for completing the lap.

  7. The pit wall is beginning to influence outcomes way more than the driver is. I believe they have to find a way of limiting this effect, or else the driver will simply become a ‘minder.’

  8. Pat Fry, Ferrari’s Strategy Chief is a genius! Wonderful Q1 for his cars!

  9. If I was Lewis I would DEMAND my own strategist now. Without that he is dead already because now Rosberg is ahead Merc will always compromise his strategy for Rosberg!

  10. Got to love Formula 1.

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