What does Lewis Hamilton’s ‘San Diego’ message mean? F1 fans decipher Ferrari radio codeword
Lewis Hamilton took Formula One fans by surprise at the Chinese Grand Prix – and not just because he took pole for the Sprint race. The Ferrari driver set the fastest lap time in Friday sprint qualifying in a remarkable turnaround from his disappointing debut in red. Lewis Hamilton celebrated with dad Anthony after qualifying on pole for the SprintAFP The seven-time world champion finished tenth in the 2025 opener in Australia last weekend having only qualified two spots higher. Just days later, Hamilton set a new track record for the Shanghai International Circuit to top the standings with a time of 1:30.849. The 40-year-old, who admitted himself he was left ‘gobsmacked’, was heard laughing at being told he’d secured pole position on the radio. However, an exchange during his new race engineer Riccardo Adami left fans baffled to work out the cryptic meaning behind it. Hamilton asked: “Where are we?”, to which Adami then replied: “That’s San Diego.” Hamilton said: “Really? [Laughing] Yes!”, before Adami added: “Good job in San Diego, San Diego!” What does San Diego mean? While not officially confirmed, the phrase appears to be Hamilton’s new codeword for securing pole position. F1 fans believe they’ve worked out the reason behind choosing ‘San Diego’, with Hamilton a fan of references to the movie Anchorman. The Brit is a movie buff, having recently released a viral video of himself edited into a scene from the 1987 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Hamilton also previously quoted Ron Burgundy’s ‘Stings the Nostrils’ saying during his 2024 Hot Ones appearance, with ‘San Diego’ from another of the Will Ferrell character’s iconic lines. A codeword used by Ferrari engineer Riccardo Adami caught fans by surpriseF1 View Tweet: https://t.co/MIw7wEd2vA View Tweet: https://t.co/Q04GFB7sIt Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur refused to shed any light on the meaning during an exchange with Sky Germany afterwards. He said: “Because you draw conclusions on every communication between the car and pitwall we have to invent codes. What does it mean? “Nothing, nothing, thank you, thank you.” Drivers are no strangers to using codewords on team radios to avoid distracting their drivers with unnecessary talk at such high speeds and to avoid rivals overhearing sensitive information. Hamilton famously used the phrase ‘Hammertime’ during his long-time partnership with his Mercedes engineer, Peter Bonnington, known as Bono, as a substitute for full push. Hamilton confirmed last year he has no interest in the saying following him to Ferrari, with Bono now the voice in the ear of his Silver Arrows replacement, Kimi Antonelli. Bono’s old catchphrase was a nod to the iconic MC Hammer hit ‘U Can’t Touch This His radio messages with Adami, who previously helped Sebastian Vettel, have still garnered headlines. Throughout last week’s race in Melbourne, viewers got an insight of Hamilton’s exchanges with Adami where he repeatedly said ‘Leave me to it please’. Yet Martin Brundle called the exchanges ‘angsty’ and they caused some debate, something to which the No.44 publicly hit back at. “Everyone over-egged [the situation],” he said ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix. “It was literally just a back-and-forth. I was very polite in how I suggested it. Hamilton had to adjust communication during his first Ferrari race “I said ‘leave it to me, please’. I wasn’t saying ‘F-you’, I wasn’t swearing. “It was just at that point I was really struggling with the car and I needed full focus on a couple of things. We’re getting to know each other. “He had two champions or more in the past and there are no issues between us.”
Lewis Hamilton took Formula One fans by surprise at the Chinese Grand Prix – and not just because he took pole for the Sprint race.
The Ferrari driver set the fastest lap time in Friday sprint qualifying in a remarkable turnaround from his disappointing debut in red.
The seven-time world champion finished tenth in the 2025 opener in Australia last weekend having only qualified two spots higher.
Just days later, Hamilton set a new track record for the Shanghai International Circuit to top the standings with a time of 1:30.849.
The 40-year-old, who admitted himself he was left ‘gobsmacked’, was heard laughing at being told he’d secured pole position on the radio.
However, an exchange during his new race engineer Riccardo Adami left fans baffled to work out the cryptic meaning behind it.
Hamilton asked: “Where are we?”, to which Adami then replied: “That’s San Diego.”
Hamilton said: “Really? [Laughing] Yes!”, before Adami added: “Good job in San Diego, San Diego!”
What does San Diego mean?
While not officially confirmed, the phrase appears to be Hamilton’s new codeword for securing pole position.
F1 fans believe they’ve worked out the reason behind choosing ‘San Diego’, with Hamilton a fan of references to the movie Anchorman.
The Brit is a movie buff, having recently released a viral video of himself edited into a scene from the 1987 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Hamilton also previously quoted Ron Burgundy’s ‘Stings the Nostrils’ saying during his 2024 Hot Ones appearance, with ‘San Diego’ from another of the Will Ferrell character’s iconic lines.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur refused to shed any light on the meaning during an exchange with Sky Germany afterwards.
He said: “Because you draw conclusions on every communication between the car and pitwall we have to invent codes.
What does it mean? “Nothing, nothing, thank you, thank you.”
Drivers are no strangers to using codewords on team radios to avoid distracting their drivers with unnecessary talk at such high speeds and to avoid rivals overhearing sensitive information.
Hamilton famously used the phrase ‘Hammertime’ during his long-time partnership with his Mercedes engineer, Peter Bonnington, known as Bono, as a substitute for full push.
Hamilton confirmed last year he has no interest in the saying following him to Ferrari, with Bono now the voice in the ear of his Silver Arrows replacement, Kimi Antonelli.
His radio messages with Adami, who previously helped Sebastian Vettel, have still garnered headlines.
Throughout last week’s race in Melbourne, viewers got an insight of Hamilton’s exchanges with Adami where he repeatedly said ‘Leave me to it please’.
Yet Martin Brundle called the exchanges ‘angsty’ and they caused some debate, something to which the No.44 publicly hit back at.
“Everyone over-egged [the situation],” he said ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix. “It was literally just a back-and-forth. I was very polite in how I suggested it.
“I said ‘leave it to me, please’. I wasn’t saying ‘F-you’, I wasn’t swearing.
“It was just at that point I was really struggling with the car and I needed full focus on a couple of things. We’re getting to know each other.
“He had two champions or more in the past and there are no issues between us.”
