Bagnaia recognizes “an error” in Sprint and is annoyed by tactics in qualifying

The championship leader saw his lead reduced to a small point following his fall, combined with a second place for Jorge Martin (Ducati Pramac) in his favorite exercise. The victory of Enea Bastianini (Ducati) therefore allowed Bagnaia to retain control of the general classification, but the double world champion did not look for excuses after losing the lead at the start of the race this Saturday.

“I simply made a mistake. All weekend I was very fast through turn 4, and I could enter very quickly. I changed my line a little on this passage, I entered a little earlier, and I lost the front. I had a very good start but my ride height device was not properly engaged so I had to go through the first two corners with the bike in a low position, which made me lose positions. I then had a little difficulty with the grip at the rear in the first two laps. Everything went perfectly from that moment on, I closed the gap, I was very fast. But unfortunately I made a mistake and I fell. I apologized to the team, because they did a perfect job, as always. »

3 km/h too much, and a fall

Starting with the medium Michelin tire at the front, Bagnaia explains his fall by this choice, which was perhaps ultimately “the least worst”. Indeed, the weather, with 20°C in the air and 37°C on the track, was not ideal for using the hard tire, which would not be able to heat up sufficiently, or the soft tire, which would wear out too quickly. Over the race distance, Bagnaia believes that he would have had the right tires, but he could not go beyond halfway. He also indicated how things are coming down to the wire in MotoGP, since he fell having approached the bend only 3 km/h faster.

“I think at that moment we didn't have the most suitable front tire, but it's difficult because you can't ride with the hard in these weather conditions, the medium was a bit strange and the soft is on the rope in two turns. I think the medium was the right choice, but I came out of turn 3 faster. Coming into turn 4 I was 3 km/h faster, you wouldn't say that's a lot, but taking the rope earlier made me fall. »

A “ridiculous” situation in qualifying

The Italian was also annoyed by the tactics used by some drivers in qualifying. Indeed, a good part of the peloton wants to do their fast lap with an aspiration. This gives astonishing images of drivers standing still, waiting for their opponents. Unfortunately, the risks are increased in this case, since other motorcycles come into the trajectory at full speed, being in their fast laps. Francesco Bagnaia calls on the commissioners to impose the rules and take out more penalties.

“Commissioners need to focus much more on the important things, not the little things. What we've seen over the past four or five qualifying sessions is honestly ridiculous. We are the best drivers in the world, we are at the top of our sport, we are there because we can do things alone. We can achieve the times alone, I don't understand why some people need aspiration so much. Being alone is much easier, and it's better for performance. For example today, I decided to slow down a little, I put myself 30 seconds behind the drivers in front of me, and from turn 4 I was catching up with them. It's ridiculous. In Moto3 for example, there were only six riders with a time with four minutes to go, because everyone wanted to have an aspiration. But they can do it all the more because they can use us as an example!

The commissioners must give big penalties. For me it's very dangerous, because sometimes you attack and you come across a slower driver in the trajectory. Sometimes it is better to have a severe change, we need clear regulations, which say for example that we can slow down, but staying within 107% of our best time in each sector. And if not, a penalty. Maybe that way we'll all wait at the pits, but maybe that would be better. »

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Comments collected by Luca Bartolomeo, at Silverstone.