Francesco Bagnaia took his second victory of the season by winning the Austrian Grand Prix. The Ducati driver also won Saturday's sprint race at the Red Bull Ring, setting the fastest lap in both races this weekend.
Bagnaia also took first place in the qualifying rounds, increasing the championship lead to 62 points. Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo finished eighth on Sunday, comparing Bagnaia to F1 driver Max Verstappen.
"I think he's a bit like Verstappen right now because he had the best bike as he's had in previous years," Quartararo said. said. “But you can have the best bike and not get the best results. It's a combination and the combination he has now seems to be the confidence he has with the motorcycle. So when you win, you feel like you're unstoppable."
Commenting on the Austrian GP, Bagnaia called it 'one of the best wins of the season' and praised the work the Ducati team has done to improve the bike's starting performance.
“Honestly, I am very happy because we did an incredible job and my team gave me everything I wanted,” Bagnaia said. said. "We've improved a lot compared to Friday, I was already feeling good but something was missing."
“So we improved ourselves yesterday. In the race, the conditions were not easy because it was very hot and I knew the rear tire could be a mess.
“But right now we understand a little better how we can improve it. This is one of the best wins of the season in terms of speed and consistency.”
“We improved the first phase of acceleration a bit. I want to thank the Ducati engineers for that because I initially thought our potential could be higher and KTM was doing a great job.”
“We were closer each time, but we were missing the first stage of acceleration. But now we have closed that gap, so I am very happy.”
