Unlike several other riders, Francesco Bagnaia prefers to focus on race pace during practice sessions rather than on qualifying. This leaves him well positioned for the race, but not so much for qualifying and timed practice – he has failed to qualify directly for Q2 for the past two consecutive times.
The reigning Ducati champion admitted to doubting whether he should continue with this approach: ‘I don’t know if it’s good to keep going like this, but my strategy during the session is very different compared to everyone else. And it helps me to be very prepared for the race always, but not prepared to be in the top positions when it matters. This weekend, for example, when we put on the soft tire I hadn’t experienced this level of grip before. The difference between the medium and soft on the left side was huge and I had problems with it. Fortunately, we finished the work on Saturday morning and were ready for the race‘.
In the next GPs, Bagnaia may consider a change, as he stated: ‘Maybe we have to start thinking differently and be more prepared for attacking the stopwatch as well. Because now we are going to circuits where it is very important to be fast‘.
