Just like last year, Francesco Bagnaia started the season with a victory. The Ducati rider dominated the main race of the Qatar GP, leaving Losail at the top of the championship.
The two-time world champion said in a press conference that the victory was important, but not decisive: ‘It is certainly very important for the points, for the championship, but it is not crucial because I believe the championship is still very, very long. There are still 40 races to go and sometimes to win you risk a little too much. So it was important for motivation to get to the next race’.
For Bagnaia, more than the results, it was crucial to have a better understanding of the bike: ‘The most important thing is that we were able to better understand the new bike with used tires, because in the test in Malaysia and also here the level of grip was very, very high and it was difficult to have a drop in tire performance after 20 laps. So, it was the first time we had this kind of feeling and it was important to understand it. So, the most important thing was that‘.
The Italian added: ‘Winning is certainly always fantastic, it is always important, but I am happier that we have better understood how to perform with this bike‘.
