Pole qualifier Fabio Quartararo explains costly Sprint decision: "It was a mistake"

Fabio Quartararo’s hopes of converting a brilliant Australian MotoGP pole position into a Sprint podium were over before the race even began.

The Monster Yamaha rider admitted he went against his team’s advice on tyre choice, selecting the medium front rather than the hard, and soon paid the price.

“I made a mistake with the front tyre. The team pushed me a lot to go with the hard, but I decided to go with the medium,” Quartararo told MotoGP.com.

“I made a mistake, it happens. But our pace was great, and I think that it's good information for tomorrow.

"Now we know we need the hard tyre."

With the medium front lacking support in the warmer afternoon temperatures, Quartararo was shuffled back to fifth on the opening lap.

The Frenchman was soon overtaken by Pedro Acosta (KTM) and later Fabio di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) to finish seventh.

“This morning, I made pole with the medium and didn't feel any weak point,” Quartararo explained. “But this afternoon the team said it's much hotter, but I felt the wind was cold.

“From lap one, the tyre was like chewing gum and for us especially, you really need the front here and we didn't have it.”

Front-row starter and fellow Yamaha rider Jack Miller chose the hard option and battled Acosta for the final place on the podium.

Quartararo now turns his focus to making amends in Sunday’s grand prix.

“I think that it will be really important to stay with the same goals, push really hard in the beginning and try to understand really well the tyres,” he said.

“But having the hard will be super important.”

Meanwhile, Quartararo feels Sprint winner Marco Bezzecchi remains the favourite on Sunday, despite a double long lap penalty: 

“The long lap here is not so bad and we saw how strong he is on the pace.”