Sweary outbursts, emotional celebrations and cheeky jokes – 12 of the most memorable team radio messages

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Ferrari may not have had their most successful weekend at the Miami Grand Prix, but the squad certainly caught the attention as a team orders debate played out across the radio late in the race, with Lewis Hamilton querying whether he would be allowed to pass Charles Leclerc in an attempt to chase down Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli up ahead.

A back-and-forth exchange ensued as the team assessed the decision, leading to an increasingly frustrated Hamilton sarcastically commenting: “Have a tea break while you’re at it.”

The remark seems to have earned its place on the list of memorable radio messages sent out over the years – and, in honour of that, we’ve been taking a look back at some of the other iconic lines that have lit up the F1 airwaves in seasons gone by….

The Bottas 2.0 era begins

We start with a soundbite that has already become one of the sport’s most iconic a mere six years on from being uttered. Valtteri Bottas had endured a challenging season at Mercedes in 2018, a year in which he failed to take a victory and ended the campaign down in fifth – some way off his championship-winning team mate Lewis Hamilton.

Fast forward to the start of 2019 and Bottas returned to action as a seemingly revitalised driver. During the season opener in Australia, the Finn overtook Hamilton for the lead on Lap 1 and went on to seal an impressive win – leading to the famous moment where, after crossing the line, Bottas took aim at his critics as he commented: “To whom it may concern – f*** you.”

Leclerc takes the blame

The 2019 campaign was also responsible for another unforgettable moment on the team radio over at Ferrari – though, unlike the race-winning Bottas, it came about from an unhappy occurrence rather than a positive one.

In his debut season for the Scuderia, Charles Leclerc had already underlined his Qualifying prowess by securing a maiden pole position at Round 2 in Bahrain. However, a few weeks later in Azerbaijan, the Monegasque dramatically crashed into the wall at the tight and twisting Baku City Circuit in Q2. His response was to point the finger at himself, ruefully stating: “I am stupid.”

A team effort acknowledged by Schumacher

After arriving at Ferrari in 1996 with two titles under his belt from a successful run with Benetton, Michael Schumacher had to be patient in his search for a third World Championship as a driver for the Scuderia.

The years that followed brought near-misses, controversies and even a broken leg – but when the partnership clinched both Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships at the 2000 Japanese Grand Prix, Schumacher emotionally hailed their teamwork. Giving a shoutout to then-Technical Director Ross Brawn, the German radioed in: “You are great, Ross! All of you guys! We did it, we did it!”

Never a dull moment with Ricciardo

To pick out one iconic radio soundbite from Daniel Ricciardo would be near on impossible. During his extensive career in F1 from 2011 to 2024, the Australian proved to be an entertaining character, a feature that showed itself both on and off the track.

There was no shortage of comedic quotes along the way, from “pizza pizza pizza” after a season-best result at Monza in 2019, through to “holy mac ‘n’ cheese balls” following a second podium of the campaign for Renault in 2020. But Ricciardo also used the radio to voice his determination, which included a memorable message in the aftermath of his last victory with McLaren at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix: “And for anyone who thought I left… I never left. Just moved aside for a while.”

Senna’s emotional home victory

Prior to the 1991 season, Ayrton Senna had already achieved two World Championships, 26 wins and 52 pole positions – but a feat that had eluded the Brazilian was to take victory at his home event.

This was a statistic that Senna finally rectified during F1’s visit to Interlagos that season, the McLaren driver winning from pole position in front of his adoring fans. The moment proved highly emotional for the man from Sao Paulo, who famously screamed as he crossed the line, seemingly a mixture of joy, relief and the pain he had felt owing to crippling shoulder cramps in the final laps.

Wolff cheers on Russell

The prospect of a win has not only sparked memorable radio moments from the drivers, but also from those on the other end of the line. Just ask Toto Wolff, who could not hide his excitement when George Russell suddenly found himself on course for victory at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix following a late-race collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

“You can win this, George!” Wolff shouted to his driver, prompting a focused Russell to respond: “Just let me f***ing drive!” The Team Principal later apologised after Russell crossed the line, adding, “My bad speaking through your braking, it just… got me.” Fortunately the Briton saw the funny side, replying to his boss: “You got very excited there, Toto, very excited!”

‘Fernando is faster than you’

For another case of a famous soundbite (or two) coming from the pit wall rather than the driver, look no further than Rob Smedley, the Briton who is best known for acting as Felipe Massa’s race engineer at Ferrari from 2006 to 2013.

The amiable relationship between the pair shone through in their communications; when Massa complained of visor issues at Malaysia in 2009, Smedley famously responded: “Felipe, baby, stay cool.” But there were also trickier calls to make, with Smedley having to deliver a team orders request for Massa to allow Fernando Alonso through at the 2010 German Grand Prix with the statement: “Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?”

BEYOND THE GRID: Rob Smedley on life as an F1 engineer and working with Massa and Schumacher

Alonso makes his feelings clear

Speaking of Alonso, the two-time World Champion is no stranger to making some well-known comments over team radio, from the joy of singing We Are the Champions after winning his first title with Renault in 2005, through to his angry remark that “all the time you have to leave a space” during a battle with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg at the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix.

But perhaps his most famous quote came during his challenging return to McLaren in 2015. As the Honda-powered team saw their pace struggles continue at Suzuka, a frustrated Alonso made his feelings about the power unit clear as he simply commented: “GP2 engine! GP2… Argh!”

Vettel the joker

Like Alonso, Sebastian Vettel shared the highs and lows of Formula 1 through his radio communications. Whether it was voicing his unhappiness at others’ tactics – remember “What are we doing? Racing or ping pong?” – or emotionally celebrating his achievements through song, the German went through it all.

Vettel was particularly known for his witty sense of humour, a factor that often shone through even in the heat of a race. Possibly one of the most memorable examples of this was when the four-time World Champion flagged an unusual problem to his engineer at the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix as he stated: “There’s something loose between my legs... apart from the obvious!”

‘Not bad for a number two driver’

While there were lots of funny soundbites courtesy of Vettel’s radio over the years, his Red Bull era also brought with it some tense moments between himself and team mate Mark Webber. This had already come to the fore at the 2010 British Grand Prix, when Webber was unhappy at the team for moving an updated front wing from his car to Vettel’s ahead of Qualifying.

After going on to win the race on Sunday, the Australian still seemed aggrieved by the situation as he radioed in: “Not bad for a number two driver.” This was not the last time that such tensions arose, either, with the infamous Multi 21 situation witnessing further fallout at Malaysia in 2013.

Norris gives a birthday serenade

Since making his F1 debut in 2019, Lando Norris has built up a sizeable fanbase – and the Briton has certainly kept his followers entertained along the way with some classic radio moments. Case in point, when asked about track conditions at a damp Hockenheim in 2019, Norris simply answered: “Er, ******* wet! Can’t see a thing!”

One of our personal favourites, though, came at the 2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, when Norris’ race engineer, Will Joseph, explained that his mother was celebrating her birthday and would make the podium-bound Norris a cake as a dual celebration – prompting Norris to sing: “Happy birthday to Will’s mum!”

EXCLUSIVE: ‘I’ve always been very hard on myself’ – Inside Lando Norris’ battle to deliver his best on and off the track

‘Just leave me alone, I know what to do!’

And now we arrive at the inevitable Kimi Raikkonen entry in this list. The driver known as ‘the Iceman’ is perhaps responsible for some of the most iconic radio quotes in the sport’s history, meaning that there are countless offerings to choose from here.

Perhaps you remember the “you will not have the drink” discussion with his engineer in Hungary back in 2018, or the Finn shouting for his “gloves and steering wheel” as he was wheeled out of the garage at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

But the award for most memorable Raikkonen radio message goes back to Abu Dhabi in 2012 where, as he fought to take victory for Lotus, the 2007 World Champion was informed by his race engineer of the gap back to Alonso, prompting the response: “Just leave me alone, I know what to do!”

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