Movistar Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi has displayed a competitive pace aboard his M1 throughout French Grand Prix last weekend, to take a strong third place on the podium.
Indeed, although he found the podium, it is clear that since the beginning of the season, neither he nor his team-mate Maverick Vinales have ever been able to fight for the victory.
The Italian rider admitted Yamaha still has to work to improve and find a solution to its electronics issues quickly. He also hoped that Yamaha give him and team-mate the maximum support to be competitive.
“Unfortunately, it will be difficult to fight for the win. It’s no coincidence that Yamaha has not won more than 15 GPs. I had warned Yamaha in February that we were lagging behind,” Rossi told Italian media.
“I am an experienced pilot and we usually take these things into account, but the reaction was slow. I do not understand why they do not listen to me.
“I have a lot of experience with the Japanese, so I can say that… I don’t know why. I talk to them a lot. They listen to me and write down everything I say and then they do what they want to do.
“All joking aside, I like working with the Yamaha engineers, but right now we need to shift gears quickly and usually they are not too reactive.
“I hope the second half of the season will be better. Zarco, however, is really good, maybe the second best behind Marquez, he’s driving very well.” Rossi added.
Rossi is currently sitting in fourth place in MotoGP standings with 56 points, 39 points behind leaders Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and 2 points ahead of Pramac Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci.
“Marc already has a good advantage, but the worst thing for his rivals is not the gap in terms of points, but the fact that he is the fastest rider on the track.” Rossi said.
When asked about the next race in Mugello, the 39-rider predicts Yamaha will need to manage to transform the pressure to earn good results.
“Before the test last week, I felt rather optimistic. Now I am rather pessimistic. I was pitiful in those tests. However, it is a fantastic Grand Prix and will need to manage to transform the pressure into positive energy.” Rossi said.
