"I had
a good feeling with the bike — it was working really well. Unfortunately, I had
that contact with Joan Mir early on at Turn 12. I was trying to make a pass and
felt strong on the brakes. When I saw a gap, I went for it, but as soon as you
move off the racing line here, there’s no grip. The bike snapped sideways at 90
degrees, and I was sliding, doing everything I could to avoid contact. Sadly,
we touched, and just as that happened, my bike regained grip and sent me off
track as well. I’m really sorry for Joan — I never intended to make contact. It
was my mistake. After that, I caught up to Bagnaia and tried to pass him before
serving the long-lap penalty. I could see he was struggling, and I wanted to
get by to limit how many positions I’d lose, but it wasn’t easy. I managed to
recover a few spots in the end, but it was still a tough race. Tomorrow will be
challenging too, starting from 14th. It’s basically a one-line track here, and
if you go offline to make a move, your tires pick up dirt and you're
compromised for the next couple of corners."
"I had a good feeling with the bike — it was working really well. Unfortunately, I had that contact with Joan Mir early on at Turn 12. I was trying to make a pass and felt strong on the brakes. When I saw a gap, I went for it, but as soon as you move off the racing line here, there’s no grip. The bike snapped sideways at 90 degrees, and I was sliding, doing everything I could to avoid contact. Sadly, we touched, and just as that happened, my bike regained grip and sent me off track as well. I’m really sorry for Joan — I never intended to make contact. It was my mistake. After that, I caught up to Bagnaia and tried to pass him before serving the long-lap penalty. I could see he was struggling, and I wanted to get by to limit how many positions I’d lose, but it wasn’t easy. I managed to recover a few spots in the end, but it was still a tough race. Tomorrow will be challenging too, starting from 14th. It’s basically a one-line track here, and if you go offline to make a move, your tires pick up dirt and you're compromised for the next couple of corners."