Bagnaia: “I was on the limit going slow, we know P13 is not our level”

The MotoGP champion began the 10-lap sprint in P4 but quickly found himself slipping down the order.

Bagnaia admitted he could feel something wrong with his bike as soon as the warm-up lap, while also saying that the bike he used was the one he crashed in Practice 2 this morning.

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"My team is already working and trying to understand the data what happened," said Bagnaia. "This morning, in the wet, I was second in FP2 and in qualifying I was fighting for pole position. 

"Then in the race, already from the warm-up lap I understood that it was not working well. It was quite difficult to do everything. 

"Riders were overtaking me from the inside, the outside and I was a bit on the limit going slow like this. It was very difficult but we know our level and that P13 is not our position."

Although he was unsure what was causing his issues, Bagnaia was clear that it had nothing to do with the set-up choice. 

Bagnaia added: "I'm quite sure that this didn’t come from my set-up. We have time to understand the problem for tomorrow."

While the performance in damp conditions was not what he or anyone else expected, Sunday’s main Grand Prix is likely to be dry which could be a blessing for the factory Ducati star.

Fast in such conditions during Friday’s second practice session, Bagnaia feels he can be back at the front tomorrow.

"Yesterday afternoon I was feeling great with used tyres. New and used tyres I was quite competitive. 

"In this track it is quite difficult to make the difference because you have to consider the tyre consumption more. 

"It is important not to push too much and in the wrong moments. We have the package to be in the front and to fight."