We continue our retrospective of each driver's season, from the last to Pecco Bagnaia. To appreciate the performance of our heroes, looking at their place overall is not enough. Thus, we will look at the dynamics, the context, the qualifications, the expectations that the driver in question aroused to judge his campaign. Yesterday was the season of
Luca marini who was in the spotlight.
You can find the corresponding article by clicking on this highlighted sentence.
As a reminder, this opinion remains subjective, and only reflects the thoughts of its author.
I) Return successful?
Located in 11th position, it is very difficult to judge the season of the 3 Moto2013 world champion. Let's start by talking about what worked in 2022. Before even talking about the results in detail, it is essential to go back to our expectations, and, from this point of view, he is a winner. Since his ouster from the official Yamaha team, Maverick has been an outsider. He has assumed this status well, his first small victory.
Riding an Aprilia RS-GP partly developed by
Aleix Espargaró, he reached the podium three times. He was particularly impressive at Silverstone, and we believed, for a few laps, that he could win. At 27 years old already, all this is very convincing, if not surprising.
II) The Viñales problem
But, nevertheless, had we doubted for a moment his crazy speed and his gift for performance? Never. Remember that he was on a series of six consecutive seasons with at least one victory, a statistic that no other hero on the MotoGP grid shared in 2022. Seeing him in front, sometimes proactive, on a machine that did not suit him any more than that, is not so surprising. “Top Gun” is one of the greatest natural talents that the premier category has known. Maverick can unleash an attack at any time, explode the peloton and impose an unsustainable pace. We knew all that.
On a level bike, it's ultimately not so surprising to see him take three podiums. Remember that he was a winner again last season. Photo: Michelin Motorsport
His main problem concerns his ceiling. Certainly, his year 2022 is successful because few people thought they would see him again at this level. But can he really do better? Maverick is a pilot as unpredictable as possible, inexplicable. His career is an enigma. What is certain is that he has not taken any steps forward. Always as irregular in his performance, he has a fragile mentality, especially when nothing was going well for Aprilia at the end of the season.
Like Marc Márquez, Viñales will always have this spark in him, this “on-off” mode that can take him from “ Lawrence 2012 " at " Lawrence 2017 ". But the problem is that these days, it's a bit short to survive in motorcycle Grands Prix. Picking up three to five podiums is a condition sine qua non to ensure a ride the following year, and again. Remember that in 2020 and 2021, 15 drivers were on the box, compared to 14 in 2022. Viñales made good Viñales, but Viñales nonetheless. His place in the general classification reflects his performance quite well.
Conclusion:
His case is far from simple. With the Maverick Viñales enigma, it is difficult to answer the simple but clear question:
Did he have a good season? We are leaning towards “yes”, but without much conviction. Certainly, he bounced back well, and had some great races (especially on the asphalt of Silverstone), that's a certainty. But on the other hand, we are still in the presence of the traditional Maverick, irregular as possible, capable of finishing 5th or 14th. His speed and his side “ performer in the soul", always as passionate, can no longer hide shortcomings known for years within a category that is increasingly stocked with even more explosive profiles.
Photo: Michelin Motorsport
Aprilia is largely satisfied with it, there is no doubt that it has made its contribution. But the Noale firm knows what it will be entitled to, “Top Gun” no longer creates a surprise. In fact, it is difficult to imagine a fundamentally better Viñales in 2023. We do not see why he would manage, at almost 28 years old, to pass this milestone on a high-performance motorcycle –
at least who was – but capricious, whereas he has never managed to do it in an environment where everything smiled on him before. In any case, we hope he proves us wrong.
What did you think of his season? Do you think that Maverick is capable of renewing itself and doing better than in 2022 against Aleix Espargaró at the helm, with a totally opposite approach? Tell us in the comments!
His end of the season, like that of his employer, was quite worrying. Photo: Michelin Motorsport
Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport
