I’ve pulled together 50 of the best, most iconic, and most memorable quotes from Formula 1 drivers, engineers, team principals and commentators.
F1 driver quotes
- Ayrton Senna – “If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you’re no longer a racing driver.”
- Daniel Ricciardo – “Sometimes you’ve just got to lick the stamp and send it.”
- Sebastian Vettel – “We have to remember these days. There is no guarantee they will last forever. Enjoy them as long as they last.”
- Michael Schumacher – “I’ve always believed that you should never, ever give up and you should always keep fighting even when there’s only a slightest chance.”
- Lewis Hamilton – “In racing there are always things you can learn, every single day. There is always space for improvement, and I think that applies to everything in life.”
- Kimi Räikkönen – “Just leave me alone, I know what to do.”
- Graham Hill – “I am an artist. The track is my canvas and my car is my brush.”
“Being a racing driver means you are racing with other people and if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing. We are competing to win.”
— Ayrton Senna 🇧🇷🏁🏆 Tribute (@F1_AyrtonSenna) March 24, 2023
Ayrton Senna 🇧🇷#Inspiration #FridayMotivation pic.twitter.com/4UvSiaEA91
- Felipe Massa – “When you give up your hunger for success you are not racing full-heartedly anymore. Just to be there, that is not my style.”
- Fernando Alonso – “All the time you have to leave a space!”
- Kimi Raikkonen – “I was having a s***”
- Stirling Moss – “To achieve anything in this game, you must be prepared to dabble in the boundary of disaster”.
- Bruce McLaren – “To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone”.
- Lewis Hamilton – “We win and lose together”.
- Sebastian Vettel – “There’s something loose between my legs. Apart from the obvious. Something is flying around my feet. I’d be proud if it was what you think it is, but it’s not”
- Carlos Sainz – “Tell me we have it, tell me we have it…!? VAMOS!”
- Alan Jones – “[The Lola is] about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle.”
- Nelson Piquet – “Driving in Monte Carlo is like riding a bike in your house.”
- Mario Andretti – “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”
- James Hunt – “The first thing that happens when you hit the throttle is nothing. The second thing that happens is everything.” (talking about the 1200bhp turbo F1 cars).
- Max Verstappen – “Simply lovely”
- Niki Lauda – “A lot of people criticize Formula 1 as an unnecessary risk. But what would life be like if we only did what is necessary?”
- Ayrton Senna – “Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose.”
- Niki Lauda – “There are more important things in life than the world championship, like staying alive.”
- Max Verstappen – “There’s a Lizard again on the track… a smaller one this time”
- Valtteri Bottas – “Good weather for a duck”
- Carlos Sainz – “This was my first smooth operation in Ferrari”
- George Russell – “Is anyone else reporting rain? I think it’s sweat from inside my helmet”
F1 race engineers quotes
Sometimes the race engineer can deliver some memorable quotes when on the radio to their driver mid race. Here’s some of the best:
- James Vowles, Mercedes strategy director – “Valtteri it’s James…”
- Bono (Peter Bonnington), Lewis’ race engineer – “Get in there Lewis!”
- Rob Smedley, Felipe Massa’s race engineer – “Felipe baby, stay cool, we’re bringing you the white visor, stay cool.”
"Valtteri, it's James. Please abort the fastest lap attempt"
— Sam (@xFleXy_) September 5, 2021
Bottas:#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/gj4V91fnRm
- Rob Smedley – “Felipe, Fernando is faster than you”
- Giancarlo Fisichella’s race engineer – “Giancarlo, you are still 2 seconds a lap slower than Fernando, this cannot be possible. You got the same fuel load and I know you got some understeer but you cannot be 2 seconds slower. Come on.”
- Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s race engineer – “OH MY LORD MAX” (when he won the 2021 title on the final lap).
F1 team principal quotes
Sometimes it’s the team princpals themselves that can gives us some of the best quotes. This was definitely the case in 2021 when the FIA / team radio was publically broadcast.
- Enzo Ferrari – “Aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines”
- Ron Dennis – “You don’t expect to be at the top of the mountain the day you start climbing”
- Toto Wolff – “F1 need Ferrari much more than Ferrari needs F1”
- Gunther Steiner – “He does not fok smash my door”
- Toto Wolff – “Lewis the car is bad we know. Please drive it”
- Christian Horner & Michael Masi – “Christian to Michael. Why aren’t we getting these lapped cars out of the way?” “Because Christian… just give me a second”
- Toto Wolff – “No Michael No! No Michael that was so not right!”
- Gunther Steiner – “If they finish fourth and fifth here, we look like f***ing rockstars. And now we are a bunch of w***ers”
- Toto Wolff & Michael Masi – “You need to reinstate the lap before that’s not right.” “Toto, it’s called a motor race, ok? We went car racing”
F1 commentator quotes
Sometimes it’s the commentators who deliver us the best quotes. The most famous for this was the late great Murray Walker who was renowned for his ‘Murrayisms’, but Martin Brundle has given us some good ones too.
- Murray Walker – “Unless I’m very much mistaken… I am very much mistaken”
- Martin Brundle – “It’s all gone to custard for D’Ambrosio”
- David Coulthard – “Racing drivers have balls, unfortunately, none of them are crystal”
- Murray Walker – “There’s nothing wrong with the car except that it’s on fire.”
- Martin Brundle – “Hug the corner like it’s your favourite granny”
- Murray Walker – “There are seven winners of the Monaco Grand Prix on the starting line today, and four of them are Michael Schumacher.”
- Martin Brundle – “He’s heading straight to the scene of the accident”
- Murray Walker – “Anything happens in Grand Prix racing, and it usually does”
- Martin Brundle – “Ambition outweighs adhesion”
- Murray Walker – “IF is a very long word in Formula 1. Infact IF is F1 spelled backwards”.
- David Coulthard – “As Christina Aguilera fakes an interest in Formula 1”
