Quartararo: If Petrucci didn’t hit me, result the same

Fabio Quartararo admitted his mistake when braking just two turns into the Australian Grand Prix had already dashed his chances of securing a strong result before he was collected by an errant Danilo Petrucci.

A “tough weekend” for the 20-year old rookie ended abruptly when Petrucci high-sided at the Southern Loop and hit him before landing, bringing Quartararo down. The Frenchman was relieved to report he had suffered no further injuries.

But his cause was lost anyway, he said. “If he didn’t hit me it would’ve been the same; I’d have gone on the grass and lost all the positions,” he pondered.

Quartararo was the only Yamaha rider to choose Michelin’s hard rear compound for the race, a decision he ultimately came to regret as the rubber was “not the best choice … with no laps [of prior running].”

The one-time grand prix race winner endured a bruising weekend in Australia as a painful FP1 crash at Siberia left him with a hematoma on his left ankle, putting him out of FP2, the only dry session prior to Sunday that wasn’t affected by the high-speed winds.

Still, he managed to qualify brilliantly, with only Maverick Viñales faster during Sunday morning’s rearranged Q2 session, an indicator that another fine result was within reach. Ultimately it didn’t end thus.

“Honestly it was a tough weekend,” Quartararo said. “A big crash on Friday. A crash on Sunday. This morning we did something really incredible, I think. We were first in Q1 and then went through and got a front row. It was a really nice start to the day.

“We were a little bit strange about the tyre choice. It was between the hard and the soft. In the end we went with the hard and I think it’s easy to say now, but the soft was a safer choice. Just we will try to go better in Sepang and have a good recovery.

“The second corner if you check a lot of people with the hard tyre made a small mistake like I did. Just my one was a little bit bigger. The one of Petrucci even bigger. It was not the best choice for the tyre with no laps.

“We can’t say it was my fault. Honestly Petrucci hit me but if he didn’t hit me it would’ve been the same; I’d have gone on the grass and lost all the positions. Maybe I’d have finished the race but honestly the fight for the podium or the top five would’ve been really difficult.

“We took experience another time. It’s our rookie year. I think it’s the moment to do these kinds of mistakes. I’m just disappointed about the result. We could have fought for a good result. We will make our best for the next one.”

On his physical condition, he added, “Looks like I’m going every day there to the medical check. I’m feeling the same as before. I have pain on my foot but not worse than before. That’s the positive. We will recover a lot as much as possible to be fit in Malaysia.”

Petrucci was contrite after his first lap error, and revealed his left ankle “hurts a lot” after the spectacular fall.

“I'm sorry because until then I had done a weekend that was up to my expectations,” said the Italian. “I made a good time in the morning, we were there and I felt very good. Sure, it’s easy to say that now after the race ... But in all conditions - wind, rain and dry - I was there and I thought that I would be in the race as well.

“Marc [Marquez] was inside and I had to go outside, onto the dirty line. Then I saw that Fabio had a slide with the rear tyre. At the same moment I lost control of the rear - and I was thrown over the handlebars in the air.

“It was only after that, I noticed that I also taken Fabio out as well. I am very sorry for him, too. It is a pity because we could have had a great weekend. Maybe the podium was there.

“At the moment it looks like nothing is broken, but my [left] ankle hurts a lot. I hope that the tendons have not been damaged. You cannot see that on the X-rays. My hip hurts on the left side, but I think it's just bruises. I hope I feel a little better tomorrow. We will see.

“Sure, it's difficult to take something positive, but at least I was at the level that I expected this weekend.”