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Danilo Petrucci has not picked up the results he wanted in this initial stage of the 2020 season and the chief culprit for this situation remains the Michelin tyres that he certainly does not like. Too different from the previous ones, the current solutions brought to the track by the French manufacturer do not reward the riding style of Petrucci, who at this moment is undoubtedly the Ducati most in difficulty with the GP20.
Dovizioso and Miller have been on the podium, Bagnaia showed he had the potential to do so. The only one who still does not seem to have digested the package formed by the Ducati GP20 and the 2020 Michelin is Petrucci, who despite getting ready to start a new adventure with KTM in 2021, has no intention of giving up.
"Honestly, I am sick and tired talking about my problems - commented an annoyed Petrucci - I would like to talk more about the races. But I’m not criticizing anyone, I do it to myself because I'm bored with talking about my problems."
How are you working on the Ducati to resolve this situation, which seems to affect you in a particular way?
"We have done a lot of experimentation on weight distribution to make the Michelin work and I in particular have now gone down a path similar to that of other riders from this point of view. Of course, the tyres change, but I in race 2 at Red Bull Ring I had a bad problem with overheating on the front tyre and I could not brake. For sure we are doing everything to solve these problems, and we also saw that in the race the pace was not bad. But I have to start further up the grid and I hope I can do it this time. You need to be faster in general to do it. "
How are you living this situation, what is your mood?
"A bit of a mix of emotions, but I'm very motivated to get back in front. I'm also a bit disappointed because there is always one that comes out. But I want to try to win again with Ducati, it's my goal for this season and it is normal that I am very disappointed with my results so far. But I am also very focused on solving the problems. Of course, I am very sorry not to be as competitive as the others who have the GP20. I was very sorry especially here in Austria, because two bikes like mine ended up on the podium, so I expect to fight with them. When I don't, I'm disappointed, but I want to find the key to the problem. "
Speaking of what happened here on Sunday, there seems to be some tension between the Race Direction and the riders. How do you see the situation?
"In the end, I have to say that most of the MotoGP riders are not at all happy with what Race Direction is doing, especially as there are a lot of accidents that happen perhaps not among the riders in front and that are not judged in the same way. There are accidents the same as those that occur in Moto3, but which are judged differently. The point is that different judgments are given on very similar cases ".
Do you see a different severity of judgment on a case by case basis?
"The top riders are judged in one way, the Moto3 riders in another and this is not right. Attention is paid to the fact that a rider has the bike half a centimetre off the line and instead they do not analyse behaviour that is much more wrong. Tomorrow we will talk about it in the safety commission and certainly there are a lot of things to sort out. I must say that it is not easy to make decisions, because all the riders have very different points of view and when you make a decision, maybe not everyone is happy. But at the moment nobody is happy with the current situation. In fact, we can't do anything, I don't think we can say 'we don't like the current stewards, let's change them'. That's not how it works. We will talk to each other and we will try to sort out the situation in some way ".
Turn 2 at the Spielberg remains the crucial point. Might it be a good idea to change the layout of that area?
"In my opinion, changing the shape of turn 2 will help sometime in the future. When you brake with the bike leaning, not everyone brakes in the same way and this creates difficult situations. In any case, it is a braking and therefore it is normal for a rider to try, you cannot stop that. If you look at the data of all the Ducati riders, at that point they all have different lines. Often even the same rider has different trajectories lap after lap ".
Do you think Zarco wanted to pass Morbidelli and then deliberately slow him down?
"Certainly, Johann was passing Franco and maybe there was a misunderstanding because Franco didn't expect Johann to brake so hard at that point. The fact is that at that point the only motorsport category that brakes in the middle of the corner is us in MotoGP. We arrive very fast, faster than any other vehicle. We have to brake a lot before the others. It's certainly not easy for Franco, but I don't think Johann did it on purpose. At that point you have to be careful, but it's hard to tell a rider 'you have to be less aggressive'. Especially on a track where you don't have much space to pass. We are here to race; it is difficult to tell a rider that he has to stay calm ".
You also had a small problem on the track, but not as dangerous. Have you clarified things with Aleix Espargarò?
"I talked to Aleix about it, and we have two different opinions. The most important thing is that there were no accidents. He complained a lot about my reaction, but every reaction is dictated by an action. The important thing is that we talked and we shook hands after the first race in Austria. I don't think it's a good idea to keep talking about an incident that has been cleared up. "
