There is a dark shadow on Bagnaia's face as he comments on his podium finish in Qatar. As he speaks, he still does not know that Vinales will be penalized for tire pressure and 3rd place will become a 2nd. This is no small gift, allowing him to gain 4 points in the standings and bring himself to within 26 of Marquez. Numbers aside, Pecco expected more from the weekend in Losail, where he hoped to finally get his wheels in front of his teammate. Instead, it turned out differently. "I'm happy, but not completely," was his summary.
Today his comeback from 11th place on the grid succeeded, and perhaps that made him even angrier about the wasted opportunity.
"I have to be able to do the same on Saturday what I manage to do on Sunday - was his major regret - Yesterday, in the Sprint, I was unable to be aggressive, and to overtake, while today I did. I can and must improve, because this is my weak point."
Bagnaia, in the long race, played his cards best.
"I had a strong start, but it's not easy to manage when you go so far behind - he recounted - I probably pushed too much, then there was the duel with Morbidelli and I wore out the tires. When I passed Marc at one point, I started to feel the tires dropping and realized that he was managing them instead. Today, the only way I could try to fight against Marquez would have been to start close to him, I was not in that position and it was my fault."
Pecco still hasn't digested that crash in qualifying that forced him to start from the fourth row on the grid.
"When you start so far back you have to use the tires more to go out and pass the riders in front of you - he continued - The same in the fight with Franco, where among other things we lost a second to Maverick. Then I tried to close the gap, I got to within half a second of Vinales, but at that point, when there were six laps to go, I started to feel vibrations and I couldn't be fast in certain corners anymore. The biggest problem, however, was starting 11th, if something doesn't happen it's hard to think of doing anything better than a podium. I really mustn't be in that position anymore."
An 8th place in the Sprint and a 2nd in the GP (thanks to a penalty) is certainly not what he had hoped for and expected before leaving for Qatar. Something to salvage, though, there must be?
"The feelings about the bike - was Pecco's answer - I was fast, but I was the one who threw away this weekend. Above all, I have to work for the Sprint, it's always the same story there."
While Losail might be a friendly track, Jerez, where the next round will be held in two weeks, should be even more. There Bagnaia has been undefeated for three years.
"Yes, but I think this is the circuit where I could have made more of a difference. Although I know that Marc has often been very fast here, he was able to fight for the win against the Ducati, which has always been the benchmark bike here. I think there will be more of a battle in Jerez, Marquez is strong there, as he was in Le Mans," was his concluding remark.