Franco Morbidelli’s Dutch Grand Prix lasted six laps plus three corners of the seventh, but his Sunday had actually already gone awry at the first turn of the first lap, when an unanticipated collision with Jack Miller sent him to the back of the pack. From there, Franco tried to fight his way up again, fueled by anger and a pace aimed at gaining a few more positions. Then, Miller did it again at Turn 5, with another “crazy move", followed by the contact. But Morbidelli didn’t mince words, and said, “It wasn’t racing anymore.” As for the fall at Turn 3, however, he took full blame and admitted it was his own mistake, from rushing to salvage a race that had started badly. That’s how Assen ended: with a withdrawal and some questions to ask Race Direction.
“Miller pushed me off at the first turn,” the VR46 rider said bluntl . “It was a miracle we all didn't fall... me, Moreira, and Maverick. From there, I ended up way back and tried to make up as much ground as possible. Then, when I caught up to Jack again, I lost more time because he made another truly crazy move at turn five. The general perception is that I’m an aggressive rider, a crazy rider, but what happened today at turn five was a bit different.”
So, what happened?
“I saw the footage in Race Direction. I heard Jack hit the gas hard at turn five. I don’t know exactly what it was, but it wasn’t racing anymore. It wasn’t a racing move. It was something different. I like to race. I’m a fighter. But I’m not here to hurt anyone. Absolutely not. That’s the exact opposite of my intentions. I just want to fight for my position, and I try to do it as cleanly as possible. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don’t. But what happened today at turn five was something else entirely.”
So, besides the first turn, was there another contact at Turn 5?
“Yes. I’d say so. Now we’re waiting for Simon [Crafar] to draw his conclusions. We were just in Race Direction. We talked and reviewed the incidents that occurred during the race. There were three... one at the start, one at turn fice, and then another at turn three.”
All with Jack?
“Yes, always with Jack. And it’s a shame, because I had good speed. I had a decent pace this weekend. We did everything we could on the track. We’ll try again at the Sachsenring.”
How did the fall happen?
“That was my mistake. A mistake I made while trying to make up ground. I was very tense, pushing really hard, and I wanted to get back up there. I had just overtaken Moreira and went down at turn three.”
You just have to turn the page and focus on the Sachsenring.
“Yes, we'll forget about this Grand Prix. We try to take away the positive that, in any case, was the speed,” the Italian-Brazilian rider concluded.