Quartararo: MotoGP title pressure is on factory riders, not on me
Petronas SRT's Fabio Quartararo says the pressure in the 2020 MotoGP title race is "not really on me" and feels it is more on his factory team rivals
Quartararo recorded his worst MotoGP finish on Sunday at the Aragon Grand Prix as an issue with an "out of control" tyre pressure in his front medium tyre dropped him to 18th.
With Suzuki's Joan Mir third, Quartararo has lost the championship lead again and is now six points behind the Spaniard, while the top four riders, stretching back to Maverick Vinales and Andrea Dovizioso, are now covered by just 15 points.
Having led the championship by 10 points ahead of the Aragon round, Quartararo insists his "disaster day" hasn't added pressure on him in the title race as "I'm not in a factory team".
"Of course, I'm really happy that [Alex] Rins won, [Danilo] Petrucci in Le Mans," he replied on Sunday when asked if title outsiders winning races was a relief for him. "But in the end what is important is our own results.
"Today was a disaster day, I'm sad to say but this would have been even worse if Mir had won, Maverick second, Dovi third.
"But in our negative we need to think about the small positive and the positive we had today was that both Alex's [Rins and Marquez] finished in front of Joan.
"But in the end, the pressure is not really on me.
"I was leading the championship, but the team was born last year, it's my second year and I'm not in the factory team. In the end, the pressure is on the factory riders.
"So, I'm feeling good. Just a tough race with a technical problem, but I'm feeling OK. It could have been worse."
Dovizioso, who was seventh at Aragon, believes the Suzuki riders will be hard to beat in the final races, while Mir insists he doesn't care about the championship as much as other riders do at this stage.
When asked what the Suzuki is doing better at Aragon than the Yamaha, Quartararo explained: "For me the Suzuki, the consistency of the tyre is much better than us and we have a little bit more in the first laps.
"For qualifying we have a good lap, but Alex Rins was so fast [in the race] and he won.
"They have found initial grip today for the first lap, and they are really fast.
"This is why they make this kind of result: Podium, podium, podium, so it looks like they are having a good time."
Share Or Save This Story
Marquez “comfortable” on Ducati MotoGP bike “but not ready for podium”
Brivio: Trackhouse offers 'great opportunity' for MotoGP and NASCAR worlds to collide
Can anyone stop "changed" Bagnaia as Ducati tightens its grip on MotoGP?
Quartararo forced to leave Monster as Red Bull returns to Honda
Quartararo explains why Yamaha relationship has strained ahead of Honda move
What Quartararo's exit and Martin's arrival say about Yamaha's strategy
Nicky Hayden: Remembering motorsport's much-loved "one-off" five years on
Morbidelli/Rossi relationship won’t change as MotoGP team-mates
Why Alex Marquez doesn't care about 'shutting up' MotoGP critics
Piastri out of F1 Mexico GP points after post-race penalty for Lindblad clash
Gasly and Colapinto penalised post-race, Hirakawa scores on F1 debut at Mexico GP
How Ferrari's loss became Verstappen's gain at F1's Mexico GP
Why Leclerc didn’t give up Mexico GP lead after cutting Turn 5
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments