Rossi still hopeful he will turn tables

Rossi has not won for seven races now, his longest win-less streak since joining the top category.

Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix was won by Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo, making his debut in MotoGP this season, while Rossi had to settle for a distant third place.

Rossi reckons Lorenzo's Michelin tyres were better suited for Estoril than his Bridgestones, but the Italian still believes he can turn his fortunes around.

"I hope so, because the bike is quick: Lorenzo didn't win by chance," Rossi told Gazzetta dello Sport. "This time around we had to defend ourselves and we did it well. We'll now wait for the moment to attack. Shanghai is a very different track, we can do well.

"With the way the Bridgestones are, this type of surface is not great. The tyres were sliding a bit too much in the race. In fact, it was me winning here last year with the Michelins.

"Michelin should go better at Mugello, but the situation is constantly evolving. In the test we'll have more things to try out and let's hope we can further improve."

Rossi decided to switch to Bridgestone tyres for this season after being unhappy with the performance of Michelin last year.

The seven-time champion admitted he has been surprised by the French manufacturer's improvement.

"To be honest, the real change is the step forward Michelin has done in such a short time. I didn't expect it, and it gives me a lot of doubts regarding the treatment we received last year.

"Maybe they took a one-year vacation. But I don't regret having decided to switch. The math is done at the end."

Ross is currently in third place in the standings, 14 points behind Lorenzo and Honda's Dani Pedrosa.