2017 Canadian Grand Prix team radio transcript

2017 Canadian Grand Prix

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From Daniil Kvyat swearing to Fernando Alonso despairing, it was business as usual on the team radios during the Canadian Grand Prix.

A series of frustrations raised Kvyat’s ire, which grew so great his engineer warned him to mind his language at one point. First his car failed to get away on the formation lap, then he was unable to regain his correct grid position at the start, incurring a penalty.

2017 Canadian Grand Prix in pictures
The stewards botched his penalty which meant Kvyat had to serve it in two parts. And his misery was capped when a wheel nut problem left him stuck in the pits. That cost him so much time the team decided to retire his car.

Meanwhile Fernando Alonso was doing his best to keep his McLaren in a strategically strong position due to his car’s obvious weakness on the straights. The Honda’s lack of grunt was exacerbated by a headwind on a blustery day at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

It was a straightforward race for Lewis Hamilton who won as he pleased. On the way he kept tabs on Sebastian Vettel’s progress, though his race engineer was eager to keep his own race the subject of their discussions.

Even before the mid-point of the race it was clear a row was brewing at Force India. After the drivers diverged on strategy Sergio Perez, who had led early on, was anxious for updates on how his team mate was getting along.

When Esteban Ocon appeared behind him and began lobbying for a switch of running order so he could make a bid for the podium, Perez was unwilling to co-operate: Even when his team offered to ensure he got his position back if Ocon was unable to pass the car ahead.

The pair had a feisty exchange on the final lap and Ocon revealed his displeasure at his team mate’s driving.

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2017 Canadian Grand Prix team radio transcript

Lap*DriverMessage
PRTo Fernando Alonso

Fernando we think Magnussen and Wehrlein on prime tyres. Everyone else on option. That’s what we think.
FLFrom Daniil KvyatThere is no any anti-stall. Clutch failure guys. Yep, OK, I go. Can I recover positions until the Safety Car?
FLTo Daniil Kvyat

Copy, copy.
2To Kevin Magnussen

OK the situation looks promising. You and Wehrlein are the only cars on the reverse strategy. Really promising.
3From Felipe MassaUnbelievable. I have no idea what’s happened, man. Somebody just pushed me completely.
3To Fernando Alonso

Kvyat had a problem. He was late leaving the grid. He will try to recover his position by Safety Car one line.
3From Fernando AlonsoHe didn’t. He was behind me.
3From Fernando AlonsoI mean, what they are doing? What crazy start, you know. They need to calm down.
3To Lewis Hamilton

So you now control the pace, remember the restart.
6From Sebastian VettelCheck the aero numbers, front-left. Seems I have quite a lot of understeer. There’s little grip on the front-left. There seems to be an issue. I think I have damage on the front wing.
6To Sebastian Vettel

Yeah the front wing, we see a big loss, so we need to box and change it.
6From Sebastian VettelMaybe we can delay that, stop a little bit…
6To Sebastian Vettel

There is a risk to damage the car and it is too dangerous, so box now.
7To Stoffel Vandoorne

OK Stoff that’s a good start to the race. Now let’s settle in, use the tow if we can.
8From Romain GrosjeanGrosjean fumed at Sainz.
What, what a mental guy. What was that? Box, I think I’ve got damage on the front wing. What a mental guy. Twice he hit me. Mental.
8To Romain Grosjean

OK box now we’ll change the front wing.
9To Daniel Ricciardo

OK mate so let’s push now. Make a good gap to Perez behind.
9From Sebastian VettelVettel’s car had bargeboard damage.
I think I lost some piece of the front wing again. Check the numbers. Something came off before braking for turn three/four.
12To Sergio Perez

How has the car balance been for aero balance, Checo?
12From Sergio PerezI’m comfortable with it. Just struggling with the wind and traction, traction is quite poor.
13From Kevin MagnussenThere is a Ferrari cap under the bridge into turn eight, can they remove that?
13To Kevin Magnussen

A Pirelli cap you said? OK understood, reported.
16To Marcus Ericsson

OK Marcus. Palmer is much slower than you on these tyres. We need to close the gap.
16To Daniil Kvyat

Danny, box for drive-through penalty. We have a drive-through penalty. We were not in front of Alonso before the…
16From Daniil KvyatAh, [censored by FOM] sake.
16To Daniil Kvyat

Just push Danny, we’ll see what we can do.
19To Sergio Perez

Push, use everything from the tyre.
19From Fernando AlonsoWill be difficult to defend on the straights so think about the strategy if we can.
19To Fernando Alonso

Understood. At the moment we’re still thinking Plan A around the target stop lap.
19From Fernando AlonsoOK there is a lot of headwind on the straight so if you are leading it’s difficult to keep the position.
19To Kevin Magnussen

This is absolutely awesome. Keep fighting like that.
20From Nico HulkenbergThat’s a good idea to pit [unclear].
20To Nico Hulkenberg

Roger that, Nico.
20From Nico HulkenbergThis message did not immediately follow the previous reply.
What a [censored by FOM] idiot!
21To Fernando Alonso

Cars immediately behind are Ricciardo, Perez, Raikkonen, all of whom have pitted. The nextcar that’s a threat to us is Magnussen. He’s plus 8.9 but we are pulling away from him.
23To Fernando Alonso

And Fernando please avoid short-shift third to fourth.
23From Fernando AlonsoWhere, where I’m doing that?
24From Lewis HamiltonOK Lewis so we’re thinking soft tyre for next stint. Ricciardo is on it now. He’s doing a 17.0.
24To Lewis Hamilton

This tyre’s lasting really well now, though.
24From Lewis HamiltonOK Valtteri’s in the pits now, he’s going to the soft, we’ll have a look at it.
25To Kevin Magnussen

Pace is really good.
26To Daniel Ricciardo

OK mate you’re doing a good job. Let’s keep it smooth.
27To Fernando Alonso

OK Fernando this pace is good. We’re looking at Plan A plus five.
27From Fernando AlonsoYou are not giving me useful information. I need the pace of Magnussen. I need other things.
27To Fernando Alonso

Magnussen is still plus 7.7. We are matching his pace. He’s doing 18.2s as well.
28From Fernando AlonsoI don’t think the prime is a good tyre. Raikkonen is pulling away too slowly. Same as Vettel, catching us too slowly.
28To Fernando Alonso

OK understood, we’ll have a good look at the data.
29From Sergio PerezHow is Ocon doing? What is Ocon doing?
29To Sergio Perez

Ocon stayed out. He’s in free air. You’re still in his pit window and pace is very similar to him.
32From Lewis HamiltonSmall vibration from a lock-up.
32From Esteban OconGetting less grip now.
33From Romain GrosjeanThe super-softs are not working today. That’s why we’re struggling with the grip.
33From Daniil KvyatWhat a [censored by FOM]. [Censored by FOM].
33To Daniil Kvyat

Copy Danny, copy. Watch your word as well, please.
34From Fernando AlonsoEmbarrassing power with this mode.
38To Stoffel Vandoorne

We’re going to go longer.
38From Stoffel VandoorneOK.
40To Lewis Hamilton

So Vettel is a 16.4. He’s on 32-lap-old super-soft tyres. Currently sitting P7.
40From Lewis HamiltonGuess he’s doing a two-stop?
40To Lewis Hamilton

We think everyone is definitely on the one-stop.
40To Sebastian Vettel

Keep pushing. Are you at full speed? We are considering plan B. We pit stop soon.
40From Sebastian VettelYeah I’m at full speed. The tyres are pretty worn. Quite a lot of sliding.
41To Fernando Alonso

How’s the front wing level?
41From Fernando AlonsoTry less to get some traction.
42To Kimi Raikkonen

Box this lap, Kimi. We’re going to try something. We’re going quali tyres. We’re going to be close with Alonso on exit. We’ll need to push on exit.
43From Daniil KvyatDid Alonso stop yet?
43To Daniil Kvyat

No, he didn’t.
44From Sebastian VettelDo we believe the other cars have to stop?
44To Sebastian Vettel

No, they don’t.
45To Stoffel Vandoorne

Car behind is Stroll. Hold up Stroll if you can.
46To Kimi Raikkonen

OK so Seb is staying out. He’s going to try and overtake those Force Indias. We just keep going as we are. Good pace.
48From Lewis HamiltonWhat position is Vettel in?
48To Lewis Hamilton

So Vettel back in P6.
48From Lewis HamiltonIs he coming through the pack?
48To Lewis Hamilton

Negative he’s still on used super-soft tyre.
48From Lewis HamiltonDo you think he’s going to make it to the end on those tyers?
48To Lewis Hamilton

We’re not sure how he’ll get on but your level of management is excellent.
48To Daniel Ricciardo

OK Daniel how are the tyres at the moment?
48From Daniel RicciardoJust really hard to lean on them. Just feels very much like it’s on top of the surface. Just trying to manage.
48To Daniel Ricciardo

OK Daniel understood. If you can sustain this level of pressure for a bit, Perez will start to struggle again. So keep it smooth, keep it clean.
48From Daniel RicciardoYep understood.
48From Sergio PerezWhat else can I use?
48To Sergio Perez

Checo with energy we’re full deploy, that’s everything.
48To Kevin Magnussen

Come on junior, push, give everything.
50To Valtteri Bottas

Magnussen has got a blue flag.
50From Valtteri BottasHe’s not moving over.
50To Valtteri Bottas

Copy that.
50From Sebastian VettelDo you think we will get them at the end?
50To Sebastian Vettel

Yep we think so. Should catch them and have eight laps to battle.
50To Kimi Raikkonen

OK Seb is in this lap. K1 both straights. You will be in front though. K1 both straights.
52From Esteban OconI can probably pass Ricciardo.
52To Sergio Perez

Checo, Esteban is pushing, saying he can overtake Ricciardo if given the chance. So do what you can.
52From Sergio PerezYeah, Ricciardo will deg off in a couple of laps.
53From Sebastian VettelHow are we doing?
53To Sebastian Vettel

You are the fastest car on track. Keep pushing like this.
54From Daniil KvyatI had some strange vibration in the engine. Exit of turn three.
54To Daniil Kvyat

Box Danny. You will have a ten second penalty. Don’t worry, we are still fighting for P10.
54From Daniil KvyatWhat for?
54To Daniil Kvyat

Don’t worry. Ten second penalty. Box box.
55To Daniil Kvyat

Stop the engine, Danny.
55From Daniil KvyatI stopped the engine.
57To Sergio Perez

Checo at the end of this lap we would like to give you three laps to attack Ricciardo. Otherwise we will have to switch. Ferraris are closing.
57From Sergio PerezIt’s a waste of time, man. Ricciardo is degging off. I want the chance to overtake him. I mean, let us race, man. Please.
57To Sergio Perez

Checo the plan is we want to attack before the Ferraris arrive behind us so we are on that plan. If we switch and Ocon couldn’t get past we would switch back.
57From Sergio PerezRicciardo, I want the chance to go into the lapped cars. Just leave me alone now. Give me the chance now. We will pick up some traffic. There will be an opportunity.
58From Jolyon PalmerVery weird feeling from the rear, there.
59To Romain Grosjean

Wind has changed. Crosswind from the left into 13.
60To Daniil Kvyat

Box Danny box. We will retire the car. Wait a second and switch off. Sorry for that.
60From Daniil Kvyat[Censored by FOM] hell, guys.
60To Kimi Raikkonen

OK Kimi you know the score. The front of this group is the podium. Let’s try and push on.
62To Sebastian Vettel

Very good lap. Keep pushing like this. Ricciardo lap time 16.8. They are struggling. They report they are struggling, Ricciardo, Perez comms.
62To Kimi Raikkonen

OK Kimi so when we get within DRS we’ll have engine five and OBR will be available. But it’s important to catch quickly.
62From Kimi RaikkonenYeah what’s wrong with my brakes? Keep losing the bite.
62To Kimi Raikkonen

OK we’re checking on data.
64To Daniel Ricciardo

Doing a relly good job, mate. Keep it smooth.
64From Kimi RaikkonenI have a BBW fail. What can you do.
64To Kimi Raikkonen

OK.
64From Kimi RaikkonenWhat can I do?
64To Kimi Raikkonen

I’m going to get back to you. DDC seven on.
64From Kimi RaikkonenStill system is failing.
64To Kimi Raikkonen

OK let me see what we’re going to do next. It may have come back, Kimi, just try this corner.
64From Kimi RaikkonenNo it’s not.
64To Kimi Raikkonen

OK it seems the recovery is not working. I’ll get back to you in a second. Keep going as you are if you can. So DDD four zero on.
64From Kimi RaikkonenIt’s still not working.
64To Kimi Raikkonen

So DDA four two on. And can you push OBR button to on, push the OBR button, it’s important. And DDA forty-two on.
64From Kimi RaikkonenRaikkonen also swore in Finnish.
So is it four D or forty-two?
64To Kimi Raikkonen

Forty-two, Kimi.
67To Esteban Ocon

So keep pushing up to Perez, he will be in trouble soon.
67From Esteban OconVettel cut the track.
67To Esteban Ocon

Vettel cut the track. So push now he’ll have dirty tyres and he won’t have DRS. Use your energy.
68To Kimi Raikkonen

OK Kimi we’re just going to be nursing this car home until the end.
69From Fernando AlonsoEngine. Engine blow-up.
VLTo Lewis Hamilton

Nice work Lewis. Excellent race, mate. Walk in the park for you today.
VLFrom Lewis HamiltonHamilton: Fantastic job guys. Well deserved. Great points for the team. Well done to Valtteri as well.
VLTo Valtteri Bottas

Great job Valtteri. That’s P1 and P2. First one-two of the season.
VLFrom Valtteri BottasThank you guys, we all deserve the one-two. Really good job. Thanks for the car, guys.
VLTo Daniel Ricciardo

OK mate that’s it nice job P3.
VLFrom Daniel RicciardoHoly [censored by FOM] that was busy.
VLTo Daniel Ricciardo

Yeah you had a bit on there mate. Very good. Very solid. No mistakes. Very consistent. Good pace. Nice job.
VLTo Daniel Ricciardo

Well done Daniel really good drive. Not a single mistake. Well done.
VLFrom Sebastian VettelAh was one lap too little. I should have got past Perez the last before. Ah, you lose a lot when you follow so close. I don’t know what Ocon was doing. He was moving quite a lot under braking. Was a bit hairy. Nice race, nice recovery. But I think the car deserved more today. Start was actually OK but Bottas was a bit kamikaze considering how dirty and slippery it was. But that’s how it goes sometimes.
VLFrom Sergio PerezGood job guys.
VLTo Sergio Perez

Well done Checo. God job . Well done.
VLFrom Sergio PerezAt the end I had no front-left tyre. Couldn’t defend from Vettel.
VLFrom Esteban OconHe cannot do that. He moved at the last moment, what is this? Dangerous. This is not fair, guys. I mean he cannot do that. It’s not fair racing at all.
VLTo Esteban Ocon

Copy that. You’ve done a good job.
VLTo Kimi Raikkonen

Sorry for that Kimi. Obviously we knew you were pushing hard.
VLTo Nico Hulkenberg

OK Nico good effort. P8, not a bad result. Well done Nico.
VLTo Lance Stroll

Great job. P9. Seventeenth to ninth. Good job.
VLFrom Lance StrollYes. Finally a point! Better late than never. Thank you guys. That was a good race.
VLTo Romain Grosjean

Chequered flag. P10. Thanks for staying with it. Good job.
VLFrom Romain GrosjeanGood job guys. Yep, that’s the whole race on one set of tyres. Really struggled at some places. Got better to the end. Great strategy, good job. Surprised the car is still going straight though.
VLTo Romain Grosjean

Understood. The wind was moving around a lot but the information was not matching what you felt?
VLFrom Romain GrosjeanNo.
VLTo Jolyon Palmer

That was the chequered flag, Jo, you’re P11. Good race, good pace.
VLFrom Jolyon Palmer[Censored by FOM] sake.
VLTo Kevin Magnussen

Well done guys. Congrats on the points.
VLFrom Kevin MagnussenGood job Kevin. It’s Guenther. Good job. You helped us get this point. Thank you.
VLTo Marcus Ericsson

OK Marucs that’s it. P13. Well done. I think that’s the best we could hope for straegy-wise and pace-wise. The lap time was not bad. Well done.
VLTo Stoffel Vandoorne

We finished 14th. Finishing order Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Vettel, Perez, Ocon, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Stroll and Grosjean.
VLFrom Stoffel VandoorneYeah difficult race with fuel saving and then what happened at the restart with Magnussen. Completely put me off so I lost a lot of position and pace there.

Note: Only includes messages which were broadcast in the race coverage.
Lap: Refers to lap message was broadcast on. There may be a delay between messages being said and being broadcast. PR = pre-race; FL = formation lap; VL = victory lap.
Message: Repetitive or irrelevant messages omitted. Notes in italics. Highlights in bold.

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Canadian Grand Prix data

    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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    27 comments on “2017 Canadian Grand Prix team radio transcript”

    1. Wonder what Verstappen said when his car broke down :)

      1. [censored by FOM] ;)

      2. Nothing, his radio was shut down because of power failure too

      3. He said the radio went also black otherwise he would be on the top of swearing. (said Max himself)

    2. Can someone make sense of Alonso, lap 28? “I don’t think the prime is a good tyre. Raikkonen is pulling away too slowly. Same as Vettel, catching us too slowly.”

      1. Alonso felt he still had good life in his tyres.

      2. Prime refers to Supersofts here. He is commenting that Raikkonen and Vettel’s pace is nothing special. He felt he should be put on the soft tyre at his pit stop.

    3. Who was Ocon complaining about (VL)? Seb or Checo?

      1. Initially it was reported as a message to his teammate but many publications have revised it and now say it was about Vettel’s move.

      2. I believe it was Vettel when passing him, forcing him off the track.

        1. Vettel did not push him off track. That’d get him a penalty for one thing anyway, and also you can see Ocon had space during that overtake but did not want to bail out of it and left it too late, so he had to go off track to bail in the end.
          Also, it was about Perez moving under braking.

      3. look again at the moment Ocon tried to pass Perez.. i can see his anger there. You defend like that against a opponent but not your teammate.

      4. It is NOT about Vettel. James Allen reported that it was about Perez moving under braking. He saw him at the airport and they talked. But Sky and some other British press still trying to make something else out of it.

        1. Evil Homer (@)
          15th June 2017, 13:39

          I think it was a good quick piece of PR work from Force India, he made the comment about Checo but they quickly realised the fall out for the team and all said it was about Vettel. May have been a good de-brief to be a fly on the wall.

        2. Thanks for correcting the misreport. Since the press changed their story naturally I assumed it was a firsthand information from Ocon himself. Wow, talk about spinning a narrative!

    4. Scuderia-Racing-Or-Ping-Pong (@)
      15th June 2017, 7:46

      Grosjean reacted VERY MENTALLY ANGRY, you know!

    5. Kvyat is very hard to like. His consistent use of poor language really puts me off. Hey every now and then I would understand, we all do don’t we? But with him every other word a F word. And he’s got zero charisma too.

      1. I NEVER do. But that won’t put me off anyway. So I’d say your comment is full of how YOU see things and it’s not an all inclusive sentiment.

      2. RossoToro (@)
        16th June 2017, 12:16

        I am actually starting to like him more every race, he’s funny and direct, not worried about some fake image most of these drivers are trying to uphold and his driving is getting better and better, slowly closing the gap with his teammate.

      3. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
        17th June 2017, 12:41

        @pmccarthy_is_a_legend

        I don’t like it when drivers use poor language all the time but his luck has been awful this season.
        But I understand Kvyat’s frustration in Canada. He wasn’t at fault for his issues at the start and he asked if he could recover the positions. The team said “copy, copy” so he assumed he could. He then got given an incorrect penalty. The stewards should have left it at that. Even if is doesn’t cost a driver more time than if they got giver the correct penalty to start with, it is nonsense that they should have to serve the rest of it later. It must be so frustrating for Kvyat when he asked if he could do what he did. Then gets given the wrong penalty, then another to add up what he missed. What drivers wouldn’t kick up a fuss with that?

        I do actually like Kvyat’s personality too. He was very funny when he was speaking in the drivers briefing at Monaco asking if “the yellow trampoline” could be removed and replaced with a solid wall like it was 20 years ago! :D That was quite amusing.

    6. I am really warming to Guenther Steiner as the unsual humane F1 boss. At the VL he comes on the air, not to berate a driver (MAG) who threw away likely points by a slightly silly lapse of concentration, but to encourage him for then being able to help the team.

      As someone who teaches for a living and knows the value of helping people to get up again after making dumb mistakes, that to me was the highlight of the transcript.

    7. Evil Homer (@)
      15th June 2017, 13:49

      I think that with a lot of the drivers that swear a fair bit English is usually their second, or in many cases third or fourth language, so they probably don’t know they are doing it or others may find it offensive. (FOM don’t have to broadcast these messages either).

      Funny one was when Vettel dropped the F-bomb on the Podium and DC apologising for him- Vettel didn’t get it so poured some Champaign over DC’s head :)

    8. For Jolyon, seeing the chequered flag is like a victory!

    9. That’s just a little portion of all radio transmissions.

    10. Kyvat uses gutter talk because he is driving in the gutter. Maybe if he was winning he would behave.

    Comments are closed.