On this Thursday, April 1, 2021, fabio quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Losail circuit ahead of the Doha Grand Prix.
The conference brought together Maverick Vinales, Johann zarco, Francesco Bagnaia, Joan Mir, fabio quartararo and Alex Rins.
As usual, we report here the words of Fabio Quartararo without the slightest formatting.
Fabio, you had very good speed at the start of the race, but unfortunately you could not maintain it until the end to fight for the podium. The positive side is that if it had happened last year, like it did, you could have finished a lot further. So you see the advantage the positive side than the negative side?
fabio quartararo : “Yes, honestly it was a difficult race because as soon as I overtook Jack, I had a very good pace but I immediately felt the degradation of the rear tire. I decided to slow down the pace a little but automatically my tire started to spin a lot. And I also think it was very good because last year, in that situation, I would have lost a lot of position. And I found another way to try to set good times, by braking very hard. But yeah, it was tough, and you know, coming out of turn six, it was one of the worst places. But it's good because we have the data of last week's winner and we saw that I was really aggressive in some places, I think for nothing. So I'm going to try to be a little gentler this weekend and I think that will help a lot. »
The Yamaha has visibly improved compared to last season. What has changed compared to last year or is it still too early to tell?
« I think that on this circuit, we have a very positive point, it is our traction. She is very good. When I overtook Jack in turn 15, he had difficulty overtaking me in the first corner. I think there are some corners here, like turns 6 and 10, where there aren't a lot of meters to accelerate, and where that helps us to attack. Between turn 5 and turn 6 it's very short, like between turn 9 and turn 10, and I think it's the kind of corner where our bike is very strong and where we can attack. Carrying out an attack between turn 3 and turn 4 is difficult because there is a lot more acceleration, but I feel very good and can make solid attacks. We'll see on the next circuit but I feel good with the front axle, and that's the positive side of our bike. »
Did you have time to unwind between the two races?
« For my part, I'm a little hyperactive, so on Monday I went to the gym. I was also able to talk to my team and improve my beach volleyball game. We spent a few hours there and it was fun. »
Both French drivers finished in the top 5 last time. Are you prepared to fight against each other for victory, and being the same nationality, will this affect your tactics?
« I think we have great potential, I saw a lot of things in the data that can make a difference. My driving was good but there were a few corners where we really lost time throughout the weekend. Of course it would be great to fight with Johann for the race but the fact that we are both French wouldn't have any effect, because there are more Spanish and Italian drivers, and they don't care. Of course it would be great for us, but it wouldn't change anything. »
Can you use the data collected in Qatar for other circuits that have less grip?
« In my opinion, yes! I think we have some different things to try this weekend. We made too many changes last weekend and I wasn't really happy. So I'm going to keep the same base for this weekend and simply change little things. If we start at FP1 and then make a change, we will see if there is any improvement or not, even if the conditions are different, but we will not make major changes. So we will have some sensations, and if we don't feel anything, we will stay with the bike that did the race. »
What is special about driving at night in Qatar, and do you feel comfortable in this situation?
« For me it's always good to run the first race here. Everyone is very excited to run for the first time and I think it's cool to run at night. It's the only race we have like this so it's completely different from other races, and the track is also cool which I think is a very good experience for us to have at least one race at night . »
Photo credit: MotoGP.com
