2017 Russian Grand Prix team radio highlights: Qualifying

2017 Russian Grand Prix

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Sebastian Vettel celebrated leading a Ferrari lock-out of the front row in Russia but his team mate was unhappy with his final run in Q3.

Third practice

Drivers have a new route they must use if they go off at turn two.

To Hamilton: “Have a look at the bollards on the exit of turn two. Bollards, left-hand side.”

Qualifying in pictures
To Ocon: “Try and cool the rears a bit more if you can. Suggest torque two or three for final sector. Limit wheelspin 15 and 16.”

Verstappen: “I lose the rear really early on entry-to-mid-corner.”

To Bottas: “Just try and avoid over-slipping the front tyres in corners.”

After a difficult Friday, life didn’t get any easier for Grosjean on Saturday.

Grosjean: “OK guys for info completely lost the grip in the front end from turn 15 onwards.”

Daniel Ricciardo also ran into trouble in his Red Bull.

“OK so there’s a little bit on the table turn one entry speed, or turn two entry speed. And turn six apex. And turn ten apex. So turn two, turn six and turn ten apex.”
Ricciardo: “What’s turn six?”
“OK, turn seven.”

“OK we do have time for one more lap.”
Ricciardo: “I feel I can get a bit better but I’m not convinced it’s as good as the last one.”

“Ricciardo: “Just felt a loss, I pulled the clutch.”
“Try an MGU-K restart please.”
“OK. Am I good to push? Yep, keep pushing for now.”

As final practice came to an end Grosjean was still searching for solutions to his Haas problems.

Grosjean: “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to say. Are the tyre pressures OK? Is everything OK? What can I do because right now I’ve got no idea. I got completely blocked me into 13. But the…”
“Ericsson behind.”
Grosjean: “I got blocked so I don’t know. The car is just not the same.”
“Yep, OK.”

Qualifying

Grosjean went out in Q1 though his final run might have been quick enough if yellow flags hadn’t come out at the end due to Pascal Wehrlein and Jolyon Palmer.

To Kvyat: “Remember we have new brakes on the car. Good warm-up on the brakes.”

To Hamilton: “Vettel behind on the super-soft tyre, he may go at lap one.”

“Grosjean: “Mate I’ve got no stability. I don’t know what to do. Got no stability on entry.”
“OK.”

“Fernando what do you think about Plan A or Plan B?”
Alonso: “I have no preference. I don’t know how tight it is. Maybe we can fuel for two.”

“OK Jo are you OK?”
Palmer: “Yeah I’m OK.”

Q2 began as the clean-up operation from Q1 was finishing.

To Stroll : “Still showing yellow, they’re clearing the car at turn four.”

“We’ve got three cars behind possibly going for lap one. Keep an eye out.”
Hamilton: “Tyres do feel at their best right now.”

Raikkonen: “How did we manage to put a car in front of turn one?”
“Apologies, Kimi.”

“Let him by.”
Vettel: “OK you have to tell me sooner.”
“Copy that.”

Vettel: “OK, turn 16 I got a lot of ‘Barcelona vibrations'”.

Q3 saw the Ferrari drivers lock-out the front row, but only one of them was happy.

To Bottas: “So we’ve got about 25 seconds in hand. Obviously Lewis is more marginal so don’t back him up. But time looks fine.”

“I think an easier out-lap you’ll probably be OK, Nico, what do you think?”
Hulkenberg: “Yeah I think so too but I was [censored by FOM] on track position because Hamilton attacked me at the end there.”
“Understood. I think that compromised your out-lap, otherwise it was looking pretty good.”

To Raikkonen: “OK Seb was a 33.4 too. You’re still P1 at the minute. Obviously waiting for Bottas and Hamilton to do a timed lap. They’re on it now.”

“Bottas behind, P3. Kimi P2 at the moment. Yep, you’ve got it! That’s the way to do it. That’s a Sebastian Vettel lap.”
Vettel: “Woo-hoo! Yes! Grazie ragazzi.”

“Hamilton P4 so P2, Kimi.”
Raikkonen: “Yeah I don’t know, it’s hard to understand how we couldn’t make it better. But anyhow we talk about it later but this has to stop.”
“Yeah understood.”

“OK so P3. There’s a tenth to Vettel.”
Bottas: “Thanks guys. No more pace in there. We’ll try to get them tomorrow.”
“Copy that.”

2017 Russian Grand Prix

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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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15 comments on “2017 Russian Grand Prix team radio highlights: Qualifying”

  1. I wonder what Kimi was unhappy about in Q3. Q2 I understand he had a car in front when he started his hot lap (his teammate if I’m correct), but what did he feel hampered him at the end?

    1. Ferrari sent him out in a bit of traffic on his out lap so he couldn’t get the tires up to optimum temps. They probably had a strong feeling he would beat their “secret #1” driver to pole and couldn’t have that. Kimi was really faster in quali and looks that way on race pace.

      1. “They probably had a strong feeling he would beat their “secret #1” driver to pole and couldn’t have that. Kimi was really faster in quali and looks that way on race pace.”

        Please stop this nonsense already. eom

      2. God you give Kimi fans a bad name.

  2. Kimi seems a bit touchy. He exceeded expectations today but still wanted more.

  3. UNEEDAFINN2WIN
    29th April 2017, 18:19

    They sent Kimi out just late enough not to make it the outlap-warmuplap-timeattack -pattern they had been running all weekend up until that point, so his tires weren’t on for the beginning of the timed lap.

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