[Rules] Do teams have to talk in English on the radio?

[bjohnsonsmith]

English is the official language of maritime travel and aviation.

[garcon]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

English is the official language of maritime travel and aviation.

So if someone ends up in the harbour at Monaco or does a Petrov, their final message must be in English.

Red Bull didn't seem to have too much difficulty with Ferrari's Italian...

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by garcon

So if someone ends up in the harbour at Monaco or does a Petrov, their final message must be in English.

I believe so.

[NaBUru38]

If they used Navajo or Icelandic rather than Italian, perhaps Ferrari could benefit.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

If they used Navajo or Icelandic rather than Italian, perhaps Ferrari could benefit.

. The US Army used a form of Navajo as code during WW II.

[Bononi]

So any reasonable explanation so far ?

[stripedcat]

Hey today they used Italian to talk to Alonso. However, they didn't seem to realise that a few people in the Red Bull garage know Italian as well.

I think knowing different languages is a skill that F1 drivers sort of need. I think Martin Brundle knows French and Italian doesn't he. Basically if it is a team like Ferrari or Ligier(now gone) it helps.

[Super Hans]

Originally Posted by Bononi

So any reasonable explanation so far ?

Well, the answer to the opening question is NO - teams do not have to talk in English on the radio. But most do, because English is the working language of most, if not all, of the teams.

[bjohnsonsmith]

I remember English starting to creep in at Ferrari when John Barnard was designing for them and then it taking a hold when Ross Brawn designed for them.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I remember English starting to creep in at Ferrari when John Barnard was designing for them and then it taking a hold when Ross Brawn designed for them.

Yes. I remember Alain Prost using words like "Truck" and "Slow" quite often. This quickly progressed to words like "Sloppy" and "Woeful" in the Alesi era. However, in the Schumacher era, words like "Sensational" and "Unstoppable" were being used. So English had come a long way in a very short time.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Marbot

Yes. I remember Alain Prost using words like "Truck" and "Slow" quite often. This quickly progressed to words like "Sloppy" and "Woeful" in the Alesi era. However, in the Schumacher era, words like "Sensational" and "Unstoppable" were being used. So English had come a long way in a very short time.

And the words got longer.

[Albux]

Originally Posted by Super Hans

Fernando è più veloce di voi. Potete confermarli avete capito quel messaggio?

Almost...

"Fernando è più veloce di te. Puoi confermarmi di aver capito il messaggio ?"

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by Albux

Almost...

"Fernando è più veloce di te. Puoi confermarmi di aver capito il messaggio ?"

Massa : Vai a puta que te pariu !


An honest answer.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Bononi

Massa : Vai a puta que te pariu !


An honest answer.

How rude but as you say, honest.

[PabloTeK]

I remember one website that interviewed Simona de Silvestro and asked her what language she would swear in if she were to have an incident and interestingly (Despite the fact the speaks 4-5 languages), she chose English because apparently a lot of the words/expressions are shorter than some other languages...

Not sure if it's relevant, but it's a point.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by stripedcat

they didn't seem to realise that a few people in the Red Bull garage know Italian as well.

And if they don't, they could always call Toro Rosso staff to help them...