Vinales on MotoGP future: 'I don't want to make a mistake again' - UPDATED
UPDATE: Maverick Vinales has released the following statement clarifying that the mistakes he was referring to in the interview were in Moto3 in 2012 and then moving to MotoGP after a single Moto2 season, in 2014:
In words that will do little to dampen rumours Franco Morbidelli is being lined-up for 2023 Factory Yamaha MotoGP move, current rider Maverick Vinales has suggested he made a mistake during previous decisions regarding his future 'a few years ago'.
That would seem to imply Vinales either regrets joining Yamaha from Suzuki at the end of 2016, or turning down Ducati to re-sign for Yamaha at the start of 2020.
MotoGP.com quotes Vinales as telling Spanish broadcaster DAZN in an upcoming interview, "Calmly, very calmly. I don't want to make a mistake again” when putting pen to paper on his next contract for 2023 and beyond.
Viales, sobre su futuro : "No quiero volverme a equivocar, quiero buscar la opcin que ms se adapte a m. Hace unos aos creo que no tom la mejor decisin"
— DAZN Espaa (@DAZN_ES) June 4, 2021
La entrevista completa con @ErnestRiveras, muy pronto en #DAZN#CatalanGP #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/wEgmKNRlb0
“I want to make a good decision, really take the path that best suits me, because, in the end, these years I have had to adapt a lot, especially my riding style, and trying to choose the option that best suits me so that I can fight for the World Championship.
"It doesn't mean that this year I won't have the opportunity, eh? But it frustrates me that I can't get my potential out.
“In the end, there are times when you don't make the best decisions in life. A few years ago I don't think I made the best decision, so I won't be wrong again.”
Vinales, who won the Qatar season-opener but was hasn't been on the rostrum since, was sixth fastest during Friday practice in Catalunya, which also marked his first day of working with new crew chief Silvano Galbusera.
New team-mate Fabio Quartararo leads the world championship with victories in three of the six rounds so far.
Morbidelli meanwhile was second fastest in Friday practice and top Yamaha on his two-year-old A-Spec bike.
The title runner-up is tipped to stay with Petronas next year and finally be upgraded to Factory-spec machinery, then potentially move to the Official team - perhaps rejoining former team-mate Quartararo - when all the M1 seats are up for grabs in 2023.
