• Radio Ga Ga - Chinese Grand Prix

'Tough luck'

Nate Saunders April 9, 2014
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In a race where Sebastian Vettel lost his cool and Lewis Hamilton started seeing double, ESPN brings you the best of the soundbites heard over the radio at the Chinese Grand Prix.

"I crashed ... Sorry."

A sheepish Pastor Maldonado contacts the Lotus garage after crashing into the pit wall, though given his season so far it may well be an automated message from a button on his steering wheel.

"That was such a mess."

Max Chilton is in no mood to mince his words about a timed run in Q1.

"I need to know whether to pit or complete this lap."
"Yeah.....if I don't tell you to pit, you complete the lap."

Nico Hulkenberg's race engineer Brad Joyce tells it like it is during qualifying.

"Crash with Fernando. He crashed my car!"

Felipe Massa's outburst after contact with ex-team-mate Fernando Alonso going into Turn 1. Given the botched pit stop 10 laps later, this was is probably as good as his mood was going to get.

"I don't know why we had to save fuel?"

Languishing down in eighth, Kimi Raikkonen is keen to open the taps on his Ferrari F14 T.

"Ok Sebastian, let Ricciardo through. Let Daniel through please."
"Which tyre is he on?"
"Primes, but he stopped later than you."
"Tough luck".

Sebastian Vettel issues the soundbite of the season when told to let Daniel Ricciardo by.

"I am going to have to stop doing it now. It's getting really annoying."

After having to relay information from his steering wheel display to the pit wall every lap, a tetchy Nico Rosberg takes matters into his own hands and decides enough is enough.

"Are you kidding, honestly? Tell him to get out of the way. Unbelievable! He's got new tyres, of course he's quicker!"

Sebastian Vettel cannot believe his eyes as Kamui Kobayashi un-laps himself, and immediately demands action from the Red Bull pit wall he momentarily disobeyed several laps earlier.

"I just got the chequered flag?"
"Negative, keep pushing"

Lewis Hamilton is briefly confused after seeing an early chequered flag, but is swiftly reminded he has another five-and-a-half kilometres left before he can relax.

"Grande, Fernando. Grandissimo."

Fernando Alonso reaps Ferrari's plaudits after taking the team's first podium of the season.

"Get in there Lewis, excellent drive there, absolutely epic!"

Race engineer Peter Bonnington appears to be running through superlatives for Lewis Hamilton very quickly this season, congratulating him as he takes the chequered flag … for the second time.

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Nate is assistant editor of ESPNF1

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Nate Saunders Close
Nate is assistant editor of ESPNF1 Nate got his first taste of paddock reporting with British Superbikes and Moto GP in 2012. A stint in rugby followed before Nate, whose childhood hero was Michael Schumacher, found his way back to motorsport when he joined ESPNF1 as assistant editor in February 2014.