2023-04-30 07:58:20
A podium and it starts again? After experiencing disappointing results in the first two Grand Prix of the season (8th and 7th), Fabio Quartararo achieved a podium (3rd) in the last race in the United States. What will boost him in the conquest of a new world crown after that obtained in 2021? “The podium did me good but there are still a lot of things missing to be in front all the time,” the French driver told us last week in Paris during the press conference for the French GP at Le Mans.
After a bad second half of the 2022 season which cost him a second world title won by the Italian Francesco Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo hoped to find a more powerful and faster Yamaha this year than the Ducati. But the difference is still obvious. Even if the talent of the native of Nice can allow him to glean podiums and races, the title seems illusory given the difference between the two cars. A frustrating feeling for the French champion.
“I’m starting to get used to it unfortunately”
“It’s hard to live psychologically, I still expected much better this year. When you are overtaken on the straight once, twice, three times and you try to stay calm, it’s complicated, admits the person concerned. I’m starting to get used to it unfortunately. Afterwards, the championship is very long. We don’t have a very good feeling on the bike even if it is improving little by little. It will be interesting to see what this will give on the next races. »
Asked about the levers he has to put pressure on the Japanese manufacturer, the tricolor driver replies that the mobilization is total. “The pressure is constant,” he insists. Every weekend there is pressure on their side. We push. They know what they have to do to improve the bike. In the general classification, Fabio Quartararo occupies 7th place (34 points) behind the Italians Bezzecchi (1st with 64 points) and Francesco Bagnaia (2nd with 53 points). The other Frenchman Johann Zarco is 5th (44 points). A new podium this Sunday in Spain at the GP of Jerez would bring him a surplus of confidence before approaching the GP of France on May 14.
A race he has never won before. “It’s the GP where you have to perform and make the public happy, announces Quartararo. It’s great to see all the French public. I always have the same motivation, regardless of the race, but at Le Mans I always have extra motivation. When you hear the fans screaming, it’s special. It’s a moment we appreciate. »
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