Franco Morbidelli inherits Maverick Vinales’ podium finish in Qatar – The wait for the decision was nerve-wracking – Leading laps provided a boost of motivation
After the Qatar Grand Prix, there was a trophy swap. Due to a 16-second time penalty, KTM rider Maverick Vinales had to hand over his trophy for second place to Francesco Bagnaia. Bagnaia, in turn, passed his trophy for third place to Franco Morbidelli.
The time penalty against Vinales was only officially announced after the award ceremony and after the press conference with the top three. The VR46 team therefore improvised a belated award ceremony in the pit lane with Morbidelli.
“It’s a bit more painful because of the wait – that ‘simmering’, that waiting,“ said Morbidelli, commenting on the uncertainty of whether he was fourth or had secured a podium place after all.
”It’s really nerve-wracking,” the Italian continued. ”I already had this experience last year with Acosta’s podium in Indonesia. So I already knew how nerve-wracking it can be.“
”But this time the result was pleasing. And when you get the news that you’re actually on the podium, it feels really good.” Nevertheless, Morbidelli also feels for Vinales, who ultimately came away empty-handed due to the tire pressure penalty.
“Yes, I’m sorry about Maverick’s penalty. He still rode a great race. He was really fast – incredibly fast. He still has that strong pace.” Overall, Qatar was a very successful weekend for Morbidelli.
Third in the sprint and third in the Grand Prix. After finishing third in Argentina, it was his second podium in the long Sunday race. “Frankie is back,” as they say in the paddock. His kilometers in the lead were also remarkable.
The Italian was at the front of the field on his yellow Ducati for the first ten laps, while Marc Marquez in particular was conserving his tires and controlling his pace. Then Morbidelli fell behind Vinales, Marc Marquez, and Francesco Bagnaia.
“The last time I led a race was in Argentina in 2023 – but that was a sprint race, so it was a bit different. This time it was ten or eleven laps – so significantly more time at the front. And it felt great. I want more of that, for sure.”
A duel with Johann Zarco at the end
“I felt like I had everything under control – but obviously that wasn’t the case. Because then I saw the group catching up. And when I saw Maverick and Marc overtaking me, they had more speed than me.”
“I thought to myself that they had managed their tires better at the start of the race. That made me panic a little, and I started to treat the tires even more carefully than I already was.“
”But then I got into the last seven laps of the race – and I actually still had some tire left. So I started attacking again, and the performance was there, the tire was there. Looking back, I should have used the tire better.”
“I should have managed the initial degradation better and not lost so much,” Morbidelli concluded, learning his lesson from this Grand Prix. Towards the end, he had to defend his position again, as Johann Zarco in particular was mixing it up with the Honda at the front.
“Johann was really, really fast – he was incredibly fast,” said Morbidelli about his pursuer. “I could see that he had strong potential. But in the end, I had more tire left and was able to overtake him in Turn 1.“
”I think I just had more potential towards the end of the race because I had more tire left.” After a strong start to the season, Morbidelli is fourth in the World Championship. VR46 and Gresini are tied for second place in the team standings.
