Francesco Bagnaia, the Ducati rider, has admitted he deliberately stopped his bike during the Aragon Grand Prix practice session to calm himself down. The two-time MotoGP champion was left frustrated after failing to secure a spot in Q2 and finishing as the slowest Ducati on Friday.
Bagnaia, who has often been competitive this season, had to settle for 13th place in free practice at Motorland Aragon, over a second off the pace-setting Aprilia of Marco Bezzecchi. In his final attempt on a fresh soft tyre, he made a mistake at the last corner, ruining his chance to break into the top ten.
After crossing the line, Bagnaia chose to stop at the side of the track for a moment before returning to the garage. "On the last lap, I tried everything to get into the top ten. I was close, but I went wide at the last corner," he said. "I needed to stop. I didn't stop in the garage because I was very nervous and frustrated with myself for not being able to complete a single lap properly."
He added that he needed to calm down to avoid compromising the team's work. "When you are frustrated and nervous, you can say many things you don't really think. When working in a difficult situation, it's easy to compromise the team's work, so it was better to breathe a bit," he explained. "When I got back to the garage, I spoke a lot with the team to understand things. Luckily, as always, Alex Marquez is making a difference in many aspects. I really hope to find a way to follow what he's doing."
This is not the first time Bagnaia has struggled since MotoGP returned from the summer break. The Italian feels his performance has deteriorated since the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. "I wasn't expecting this performance. I was expecting to be much faster, but unfortunately it was difficult," he said. "Something changed in my feeling from Silverstone. Until Sachsenring, I was quite confident we were improving. Since Silverstone, I don't feel good on the bike and I struggle to do normal things."
Bagnaia identified braking, corner entry, and rear grip as the main problem areas. "Honestly, the rear grip of the track looks better because it's more consistent than others. But the thing is, when I enter corners, I lose the rear without doing anything. As soon as I touch the gas, the first 10-15 percent, I lose it," he said. "Until I pick the bike up completely and I'm straight, I still spin and have a lot of movement. My bike is still struggling to fix this."
With this situation, Bagnaia and the Ducati team must work extra hard to find a solution before qualifying and the race. The pressure is mounting as he is in a tight battle in the standings. Can Bagnaia bounce back at Aragon? We'll see in the next session.
Baca Juga
Marc Marquez beri nasihat penting ke Isack Hadjar soal cedera. Pebalap F1 itu absen di GP Belanda, dan Marquez ingatkan jangan memaksakan diri.
Francesco Bagnaia mengaku frustrasi dan sengaja berhenti di trek untuk menenangkan diri usai gagal masuk Q2 di GP Aragon. Ia kesulitan sejak Silverstone.
Marco Bezzecchi catat waktu tercepat di GP Aragon Jumat, tapi waspadai Marc Marquez yang diprediksi lebih cepat. Simak analisis dan target Bezzecchi.
Lanjutkan dengan Google
Diskusi & Komentar (0)
Mari Bergabung dalam Diskusi!
Masuk dengan mudah untuk mulai memberikan komentar, membalas, dan berinteraksi dengan pembaca lainnya.
Komentar Terbaru
Belum ada komentar. Jadilah yang pertama!