A fourth row for Quartararo in Malaysia

In pole position on this same circuit three years ago, fabio quartararo finished last in Q2 this Saturday at Sepang. And as if that wasn't enough, the Frenchman made a mistake at turn 7 during the final free practice session and fractured the middle finger of his left hand. 

In the images, this fall seemed innocuous and even the main person concerned does not understand. “I suffer from a small fracture in my phalanx,” reassures Quartararo, who has obtained the green light to race tomorrow. I have no idea how it happened because I fell on my right hand. I think when I fell I must have put my hand down and twisted my finger. It bothered me a little, but it's okay. It's a bit annoying for the ride height device, because you have to use it in quite a few places, that's the only thing that bothers me. Since you don't use the clutch to downshift, this shouldn't be a problem. »

In qualifying, Quartararo was clearly surprised by the time. Coming out of his box too late, he only had one opportunity to chase the clock. Unfortunately, during this attempt, he suffered a small scare which dashed his hopes of a better result. “On the first run, we didn't understand, and on the second we took a long time to get going, I was only able to do one lap,” he says. I was good in the first sectors, but I made a mistake in the same corner where I fell. (…) In terms of race pace, the feeling is quite good, but not over one lap. »

“I want to have fun because that’s the only way to have a great race”

The Frenchman recognizes that we will have to look into this strategic error which could cause him to lose the crown on Sunday. “I don’t know why it took us so long,” he said. Apparently I had a very slow exit lap, I don't believe it, but we'll watch it and talk about it. »

By rushing from so far, victory seems difficult, if not impossible, but that is not what he is aiming for. Francesco Bagnaia will start ninth and must finish among the top five to hope to take the crown. If the Italian can count on the support of his counterparts in the Ducati clan, Quartararo will go it alone. His teammate Franco Morbidelli will be ahead of him on the grid, but the Italian will have to observe two Long Laps. “When you start 12th, you don't have a strategy, you have to be as fast as possible and see. (…) I want to have fun because that’s the only way you can have a great race. I'm going to try to get off to a good start, to be aggressive, because we have nothing left to lose. I push the limit every lap. We only had one lap in the second run, but the pure performance wasn't there anyway. »