Unheard driver radio from F1’s slow show in Monaco · RaceFans

The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix will not be remembers as one of Formula 1’s great races.

A first-lap crash gave the entire field the opportunity to get their mandatory pit stop out of the way and cruise to the chequered flag.

From the radio traffic during the race it’s clear many of the drivers were just as frustrated about this situation as those watching, as they had lost the best chance for them to gain positions around a track where overtaking is practically impossible.

However the strange circumstances of the race did produce some unusual tactics and surprising remarks on the radios.

2024 Monaco Grand Prix team radio

Jump to:

“The crash was actually quite big”
Sainz: “Please tell me we go again”
Ocon: “That’s it, guys”
Hamilton: “Check the bib”
“We go to the end”
Russell: “We’re driving so slow.”
Albon: “Going to take out my front wing”
“Gasly needs to stop again”
Alonso: “I’m not sure what we’re doing.”
“Hamilton is just playing a slow, fast, slow game”
Hamilton: “Do I need to go any faster?”
Leclerc: “What did you say?”
Sainz: “Where would Lando exit?”
Verstappen: “I thought the ride was bad yesterday”
Alonso: “I thought that we were P10”

“The crash was actually quite big”

A first-lap collision between Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg brought proceedings to a swift halt. Race leader Charles Leclerc’s engineer Bryan Bozzi, in his second appearance in the role, told him to expect a long wait for a restart:

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Sainz: “Please tell me we go again”

Leclerc’s team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr collided with second-placed Oscar Piastri at the initial start. He pulled over with a puncture on the first lap, then was able to crawl back to the pits.

Having fallen from third to 16th, Sainz was desperate to know whether he would be able to reclaim his original position on the starting grid. To his immense relief, as at the Australian Grand Prix last year, he was.

Ocon: “That’s it, guys”

A fourth retirement on the first lap was Esteban Ocon, who tangled with team mate Pierre Gasly. His team inspected the damage after he dragged his A524 back to the pits, but it proved in vain:

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Hamilton: “Check the bib”

Lewis Hamilton was also concerned he might have damaged his car. He remarked “I told you guys” on his way into the pits, a message which was broadcast on the world feed, and appeared to indicate he wanted to start the race on the medium compound tyre instead of the hards, giving him a better compound to switch to in the event of an early red flag.

“We go to the end”

Virtually every team seized the opportunity to change tyres and run to the end of the race without pitting at this point. Leclerc’s race engineer Bozzi let slip their plan before the restart.

Once the race resumed Ferrari told him to keep a lid on his pace, to reduce the chance the drivers immediately behind him would build up enough of a lead over their pursuers to be able to make a pit stop without losing a position on the track.

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Russell: “We’re driving so slow.”

Four places behind Leclerc, George Russell was the first driver on the medium tyre compound, and told to maintain a slow pace too, so much so that he became concerned about the possibility Max Verstappen behind would attack him:

Albon: “Going to take out my front wing”

Alexander Albon was queued up behind Yuki Tsunoda, another driver who had been told to restrict their pace for tactical reasons. He grew increasingly frustrated as the laps ticked down, increasingly warning that the RB driver was risking contact by slowing him down.

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“Gasly needs to stop again”

RB were telling Tsunoda to restrict his pace partly because they had mis-read one of their rivals’ strategies. They thought Pierre Gasly needed to pit again to fit a different tyre compound, not realising that he too had changed compounds during the suspension:

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Alonso: “I’m not sure what we’re doing.”

Not for the first time this year, Aston Martin used Fernando Alonso tactically to help his team mate. They had him reduce his pace to create a gap for Lance Stroll to make a pit stop for fresh tyres and resume his pursuit of Gasly without losing a place:

However to the team’s disappointment Stroll hit the barrier soon after taking fresh tyres. That gave him a puncture which ruined his race:

“Hamilton is just playing a slow, fast, slow game”

Verstappen ran between the two Mercedes drivers and took advantage of Hamilton’s slow pace after his pit stop to take a fresh set of tyres. He tried to use this to hunt down Russell, but was not successful. More surprisingly, he didn’t have the pace to beat Hamilton behind him to the fastest lap of the race.

Hamilton: “Do I need to go any faster?”

Hamilton secured the fastest lap as he chased after Verstappen:

Leclerc: “What did you say?”

It seems Leclerc and his new race engineer are still getting used to each other. Leclerc had to ask for clarifications several times during the race.

But they also had a light-hearted exchange when Leclerc offered to update Bozzi on his potential pace. Ferrari did not want this information to be shared on the radio – particularly as that part of the exchange was played on the world feed.

Sainz: “Where would Lando exit?”

Meanwhile Sainz was extremely concerned that Ferrari give no opportunity for Lando Norris behind him to make a pit stop, especially when the cars behind him began to come in:

Verstappen: “I thought the ride was bad yesterday”

Leclerc took the victory on a weekend where Red Bull struggled to compete and Verstappen was especially unhappy about his car’s performance over the kerbs, as he remarked after the race:

Alonso: “I thought that we were P10”

There was disappointment at the end for Alonso, who though he’d scored a point:

His team mate, meanwhile, could only apologise for his mistake:

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