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F1 teams and drivers communicate with one another through radio in every single race weekend session. Extremely important information is usually passed between the driver and his race engineer, which is then passed on to the rest of the team. Apart from that, there are several hilarious exchanges between them as well.
Over the years, there have been many memorable team radios that are worth listening to. Listed below are 10 of them:
#10 1998 F1 Hungarian GP - Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn
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In the 1998 F1 Hungarian GP, the world saw the genius and talent of both Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher when they executed a perfect three-stop race to outsmart the McLarens and snatch a victory. During the race, Brawn devised an excellent plan and simply asked Schumacher to drive on qualifying pace for 19 laps in order to cover the 25-second gap to David Coulthard.
"Michael, you have 19 laps to pull out 25 seconds. We need 19 qualifying laps from you," Brawn said.
Replying to this, the German driver simply said:
"Ok, Thank you."
Then he unleashed his racing prowess, which allowed him and Ferrari to steal the victory in Hungary. The iconic team radio and the perfect execution from the legendary team and driver are still studied and praised to this day.
#9 2019 F1 Brazilian GP - Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz drove an unbelievable race in the 2019 Brazilian GP, where he plowed through the field and finished P4 despite starting from P20. He was extremely delighted and sang his famous song, for which he is now known:
"I cannot believe it! Simple as that. What do you think? Do you think that was a...Smooth Operator!"
His race engineer in McLaren also sang with him in joy.
#8 2013 F1 Monaco GP - Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen has had loads of iconic team radio messages in the past. Though his messages are usually out of anger, they have always made fans laugh, mainly because of his persona. One of them was in the 2013 Monaco GP, where Sergio Perez collided with the Iceman during the race and punctured his rear tire.
Right after the collision, Raikkonen came on the radio and expressed his frustration:
"That f****** idiot! I wanna hit him when I see him!"
#7 2018 F1 Brazilian GP - Sebastian Vettel
Drivers frequently communicate with the team to give all kinds of feedback and report issues about the car. Sebastian Vettel did the same back in the 2018 Brazilian GP, but the issue sounded rather hilarious. He himself did not hold back and continued to joke about it.
"There is something loose between my legs...apart from the obvious! Something flying around my feet. Yeah...I'd be proud if it was what you think it is, but it's not!" he said.
#6 2002 F1 Belgian GP - Juan Pablo Montoya
In the 2002 Belgian GP qualifying session, Juan Pablo Montoya of Williams-BMW was going for a flying lap. Unfortunately, Kimi Raikkonen was on a slow lap and taking the corner while on the racing line, which forced Montoya to slow down near the old bus stop chicane right before the finish line.
After his lap, Montoya displayed his anger over the team radio:
"F******! F****** Raikkonen, what a f****** idiot!"
#5 2010 F1 German GP - Rob Smedley to Felipe Massa
Back in 2010, the FIA had a rule that no team orders were allowed to be given during a race. However, Ferrari violated this in a creative way in order to switch the positions of their drivers.
Fernando Alonso was the preferred driver during the German GP. Hence, Felipe Massa was asked to move away by race engineer Rob Smedley in a cryptic manner. Smedley simply said:
"Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?"
Later on, Ferrari was fined $100,000 for imposing team orders when it wasn't allowed. However, the FIA lifted the ban since they realized it was not possible to stop teams from doing so.
#4 2002 F1 Austrian GP - Rubens Barrichello
Ferrari and Michael Schumacher were a match made in heaven, as the two dominated the sport from 2000 to 2004. However, Schumacher did not win every race fair and square.
Back in the 2002 Austrian GP, his Ferrari teammate, Rubens Barrichello, was well underway for a race win but was given strict team orders to let Schumacher through in the final lap of the race. Right before the start-finish line, Barrichello gave up the position to his teammate. This was one of the most shocking race finishes in the history of the sport.
According to the commentators, Ferrari team CEO Jean Todt passed a note around the team pitwall at that moment, which was speculated to be a message for Barrichello.
Speaking to Autosport magazine after the race, Barrichello claimed that the team said something along the lines of:
"Rubens, we can talk later. Please do it, in the best interests of the team."
#3 2015 F1 Japanese GP - Fernando Alonso
Back in 2015, McLaren was struggling to keep up with the rest of the pack. However, their driver Fernando Alonso did not hold back from criticizing the team's power unit partner, Honda, by calling their Formula 1 engine a GP2 one.
During the 2015 Japanese GP, the home race for Honda, the Spaniard screamed on the team radio after being passed by young Max Verstappen:
"GP2 engine! GP2!"
#2 2019 F1 Azerbaijan GP - Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen once again makes it onto the list for his team radios. Back in the 2019 Azerbaijan GP, the Ferrari driver was angry with his team since they were not giving him his gloves and steering wheel, and were simply pushing him out of the garage in the pitlane.
However, F1 fans still enjoy listening to this hilarious radio message as the Iceman keeps screaming for his gloves and steering wheel.
"Get my gloves and steering wheel. Gloves...Mark, gloves! Gloves and steering wheel, yeah...Steering wheel! Somebody tell him to give it to me!" he screamed.
#1 2012 F1 Abu Dhabi - Kimi Raikkonen
One of the most iconic team radios ever transmitted was once again from the Iceman of the sport, Kimi Raikkonen. When he was driving in the 2012 F1 Abu Dhabi GP, his race engineer at Lotus delivered information about cars behind him and promised to keep Raikkonen updated about other drivers.
The Finn, however, did not want anyone in his ears while he was racing and simply replied:
"Leave me alone. I know what to do."
