Struggling lead factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia has admitted he got caught out by the tricky weather at Sepang on Friday, which resulted in him missing out on direct passage to Q2 after a promising day.
Bagnaia said he left the pitlane too late to win a late battle for fast laps that had looked unlikely when rain had forced everyone into their garages a few minutes earlier.
“It’s more my fault to not be in Q2, because I started from the garage too late and just had two laps,” said Bagnaia. “In those conditions two [further] laps is better, so it was more my fault.”
While Bagnaia never had the raw pace to make Q2 in the two races since his victory in Japan last month, Friday at Sepang had promised much more. The double world champion had shown reasonable speed in regular dry running, with the second-fastest time in Free Practice 1.
Bagnaia was also competitive in the early part of Practice, with the third-fastest time after the early round of ‘banker’ laps.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Amid speculation about Bagnaia trying both 2024 and 2025 bike specifications during the course of the day, the Turin native’s assessment of any overall improvement in potential was guarded.
“The [bike feels] more like [the one] I raced [last Sunday] at Phillip Island, so it’s better compared to the rest of the weekend at Phillip Island and the [whole] weekend in Indonesia.
“I started quite well, I could work a bit on the bikes. And luckily this track is also helping me, so [it was] a bit better.
“But I’m struggling. The feeling is still not there in terms of performance. I cannot brake and [enter corners] the way I want. We are working on it, but for sure it’s a better start compared to the last two weekends.”
Asked about the Ducati’s stability on the straights, a topic that has been in the spotlight since footage of Bagnaia shaking emerged at Phillip Island, Bagnaia was also cautious in his reply.
“It’s a bit better, yeah. But from Austria onwards, we have been having more movements and we are still trying to understand the cause.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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