Fabio Quartararo said Francesco Bagnaia had every right to be furious with Ducati over his ongoing problems, and added that he would feel the same way if a teammate kept beating him while he struggled. Speaking at the Red Bull Ring during Austrian Grand Prix media duties, Quartararo said he did not see a real parallel between Bagnaia’s situation and his own Yamaha troubles. He said he would try to understand why he could not match a winning teammate, but did not know the details of Bagnaia’s relationship with Ducati.
Bagnaia has been dealing with rear-grip problems, while Ducati staff said he had tried irrational things to improve the GP26 without finding the root cause. Marc Marquez has continued to dominate Ducati this season, with five race wins, and remains in the title fight despite missing multiple rounds. Quartararo has also been openly frustrated with Yamaha. He said he usually raises problems directly with the team, but recently told French media he would stop helping develop the bike because he was not allowed to test Pirelli tires on Monday in Austria, then later said those comments could have been better thought through. He repeated his criticism of Yamaha’s bike and said the refusal to let him join next Monday’s Red Bull Ring test had added to recent tension. Quartararo added that rain would make matters worse because Yamaha already lacked grip, especially in braking and corner entry.
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