Ninth in the drivers standings after five race weekends, already -45 from the leader Francesco Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo he’s having a really difficult season at Yamaha. The Japanese bike seems to be among the least competitive on the grid, and the 2021 world champion is unable to demonstrate his undeniable talent. “El Diablo” got on the podium in Austin, while in the other races he had to deal with the lack of speed of his bike, struggling with the chronic engine problem that prevents recoveries from the rear or defending from the opponents.
In the last two years, however, Quartararo has done well at Mugello, finishing second in 2022 and winning in 2021: a glimmer of hope for the French champion, who recently asked his team to arrive at the summer break without testing anything new on his M1. The transalpine would like to try to go back to the old configuration of his bike, with the hope of rediscovering that feeling lost with the unsatisfactory developments on the bike in the last period.
Quartararo’s words at the press conference
First part of the season. “We arrive in a different situation than in the past, where we were faster. We will try to do our best to fight for the best positions. It will be important on Saturday, to make some excellent qualifying.”
The qualifications. “We are struggling more than in the past, in the last 4 years I have only missed Q2 once and this year already twice. In these three races we will keep the same bike and we will stop touching it to find something better. We will try this set-up, hoping it works.”
Expectations for Mugello. “The feeling with this year’s bike is different. We are missing something in the corner, which was our strong point of the last 4 years. As an engine we should go better, exiting the fast corners. Let’s hope for a great race, doing well in qualifying will be very important.”
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