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The Friday experienced at the Red Bull Ring was definitely not the one that Enea Bastianini would have expected, after the triumph at Silverstone. The Lenovo Ducati team rider in fact struggled more than expected on the demanding Spielberg track, only gaining access to Q2 by clawing out the 10th and last useful place, despite a crash at the every end.
"Mission accomplished by the skin of my teeth. It has to be said, though, that sometimes you're out by one position, so that's good. Today, however, I was not very comfortable, especially with the medium front tire, with which I struggled a lot - said Enea recounting his day - I improved with the hard tire, in fact I was lapping better, but it seemed excessive to use it for the time attack. Instead, in hindsight, it probably would have been the right choice. Let's see for tomorrow, but if the temperatures are like that, I think for my riding style the hard is better."
A troubled start, which was not in the plans of the Rimini rider.
"It was not calculated," he admitted, " Honestly I would have preferred to be further ahead, but as I said I struggled so much with the front. I can't stop and, especially when I use the medium, I alternate between a lap where I do well and one where I go long and can't get the references. With the hard, as mentioned, I can be faster, but we'll see tomorrow. If we want to fight for something we definitely have to take a step forward, however, I am not worried because I know I can be fast. Today I lacked a little bit of repeatability."
Going back to talking about the tires, Bastianini explained why he was much more comfortable with the soft than with the hard: "The medium gives me a lot more jumping and I always arrive a little bit long on the entry. Just enough to lose speed. With the hard, on the other hand, I can keep it there. This is the biggest difference I felt today."
For this very reason, for the Ducatista the harder tire could be the solution to adopt in the Sprint as well."Probably. I want to try it better, but the problem is that it is not ready immediately on the left, it needs a few laps. This is the only thing that made me a little hesitant for the time attack, however, I think it could be the right choice for the Sprint - he acknowledged - As for the rear, we will have to evaluate. Tomorrow we will do a few more laps with the soft to see where it can go, but this is a track where the tires drop a lot. So, I think it will be difficult to do the Sprint with the soft."
Getting a good start will also be crucial for the 26-year-old. All the more so if he were to start with the hard on the front.
"Obviously I hope to get a good start and hold my own in the first four corners, however it's true that when you're behind on this track you struggle a lot, so it's important to start at the front," he stressed, "I think I can qualify in the first two rows, although obviously the first would be better. As we have seen in the last races."
Commenting then on the many crashes seen today, especially in the first corners, Enea said, "When you brake, especially in Turn 2a, many times you go on the kerb, the bike pushes and blocks the front. This is something that can also happen in Turn 1."
Speaking instead about his crash, he added laughingly, "The 89° 'big lean' didn't last long, but for a moment we believed it. When I saw the gravel coming: 'I said whatever, OK nothing,' but if there was still some asphalt I would have tried!"
