The first day of practice for the Argentine Grand Prix ended with a half-smile for Pecco Bagnaia. The World Championship leader, who set the sixth fastest time, admitted that he is not in perfect physical condition, but what worried him the most was the difficulty in finding the feeling with the front of his Ducati.
Tomorrow morning he will therefore try to take advantage of FP3 to make a step, especially with the new tyre, even if his belief is that in terms of pace the gap is not too large compared to the Aprilias, which today gave the sensation of being the bike to beat on the Termas de Rio Hondo track.
“It was a strange day. I don’t feel too good physically, I’m a bit feverish, but that’s another story. In terms of feeling with the bike, this morning it was quite difficult for me to find the pace. Afternoon it went better from the beginning, even if we didn’t do too many laps in a row, because we were a bit behind and we needed to work”, said Bagnaia.
“In terms of pace, however, I’m happy, because we’re close to the Aprilias with used tyres. We’re missing something with new tires and I’m struggling to find a good feeling with the front, but we still have tomorrow morning to try and improve the situation If we succeed, it will definitely get better,” he added.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The conditions in the morning might not be ideal, given the very different times from those of the two races, but Pecco seems convinced that they will be enough: “They will be better, because we rode a lot today. Then the wind was quite strange, because it pushed you out of the track at turn 3. And controlling the bike between the bumps and the wind wasn’t easy at all. I think tomorrow morning so the situation will be better”.
On a track on which work was started practically from scratch, unlike Portimao where there had already been two days of testing, Bagnaia explained that he believes that the new format makes everything a little more frenetic, especially if you are not at place.
“Everything was already in place in Portimao, here it was different and I think it showed. FP2 like this is quite stressful, because you have to do many laps and you have to improve, but when you’re not in a good situation it’s not easy. But we managed to manage it, because the goal was to stay in the top 10 and we succeeded. But we have to think of another strategy to be competitive right away and have less work to do”.
When he was then asked whether the absence of his box mate, the injured Enea Bastianini, might have had an impact on these difficulties, he concluded: “It certainly counts when there is someone in your box you can talk to easily. It’s easier to understand things and improve. But it’s also true that we share the data with all the Ducatis. But in terms of feeling and atmosphere, it’s always better when your teammate is in the garage.”
Read also:
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
