One of the most important parts of a Formula One season isn’t the drivers, or the cars, or even the racing that occurs each fortnight. It is, in fact, the interviews, the quotes, the words that fall out of the paddock and allow us into that world. It’s in the passion and the ploys, the paragraphs and the pumped up joy, it’s the reactions and relish with which everyone takes part. Formula One is often accused of living in its own little bubble and here, I want to celebrate that. This is Speech Bubble, the place to dissect what is said in and out of the paddock, what the meaning is behind the F1 words, and what we should and shouldn’t read into it all.
Honda's Hungarian respite from retirements
These words, from the mouth of Honda’s motorsport boss Yusuke Hasegawa, show just a glimmer of hope about the progress that the Japanese engine manufacturer is making. The McLaren Honda partnership, that was supposed to be such a resplendent return to glory, has been the punchline to many of 2017’s jokes, and it’s been frankly quite painful to watch the McLaren team suffer disappointment after disappointment.
Räikkönen's revealing radio message in Russia
Kimi Räikkönen’s now infamous radio transmission during the Russian Grand Prix, where the Finn was confused by which Mercedes driver was storming out front, and which was lagging behind somewhat. There are two interesting sides to this radio message – firstly, Kimi’s humourous inability to keep up with what’s going on, and secondly, the fact that no one was really expecting Bottas to dominate his teammate in Sochi quite so much.
Team wrap ups after two weeks in Barcelona
“I don’t remember how it was last year, but this felt like a good couple of weeks.” So says Lewis Hamilton, who wrapped up two weeks of testing for Mercedes, alongside teammate Valtteri Bottas. The pair of them completed over 1000 laps between them, and saw barely any reliability problems, which should give them both confidence for the season ahead.
A journey through Formula One's driving opportunities
This is a quote from Claire Williams, deputy team principal of the Williams team, as she shared her thoughts about Valtteri Bottas. With the Finn’s departure to Mercedes, an emotional hole has been left at the Williams team, as he’s been with them for many years, building up the team, as well as working through the stages of his own career. And it was Claire’s words here that made me realise just how many different types of drivers there are in Formula One, and just how many words there are to describe them.
Hamilton's change of heart in the heat of the battle
“If I am out ahead I want to be as far ahead as possible.” The eager words of Lewis Hamilton, who was ruling out the possibility of doing anything other than racing his heart out in Abu Dhabi. Red Bull chief Christian Horner had suggested it would be prudent to get out in front of the pack and then start to back the field up in an effort to mix up the position Nico Rosberg ended up with, giving Hamilton half a chance at taking home the 2016 World Championship title.
Should all team personnel be ready to face the media?
"I'm the strategist, I don't do interviews." These were the words from Haas F1 Team's strategist Ruth Buscombe, as Ted Kravitz tried to catch a word with her after the first round of 2016 in Australia. The Sky Sports reporter wanted to hear how the team felt about Romain Grosjean's staggering sixth place finish, earned due to some good strategy surrounding the red flag period in the middle of the race.
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