Maverick Vinales shrugged off the collision with Franco Morbidelli on the last lap of the MotoGP Argentine Grand Prix, branding it as “nothing”.
Sepang Racing Team rider Morbidelli battling with Yamaha stablemate Vinales and Ducati's Danilo Petrucci over sixth place, when he ran into the back of Vinales at Turn 7 on the last lap.
Morbidelli later admitted he did not intend to make a move on Vinales, but was sucked in by the double slipstream from the works Yamaha man and Petrucci, while also getting caught out by Vinales trying to “cut the line” in a bid to pass Petrucci.
“I felt strong in some areas of the track and I managed to do a good race until the last lap, and then unfortunately I was fighting for sixth position and I just ran into Maverick,” Morbidelli said.
“I didn't want to do any overtaking, but with the double slipstream I couldn't stop properly, and maybe he wanted to cut the line to overtake Petrucci again.
“So me arriving a bit too fast and him stopping a bit more to cut the line [meant] we both ended up on the ground.
“It's a big shame, a big pity for both of us, but luckily we're both fine. So this is good.”
Vinales passed the clash off as something to be expected on the last lap of a race as everyone tries to
“be at our best”, and admitted he could do the same at the next race.
“I saw the replay and finally it was nothing,” he added.
“Franco, it's the last lap, we all try to be at our best. One mistake, it is how it is.
“Maybe in the next race I do the same, it's something you can't explain. So it's nothing, no problems.”
Vinales puzzled by 'something strange' with M1
Vinales once again struggled off the line from the front row, dropping to fifth by the first turn and taking several laps to get back onto front-running pace.
The Spaniard says he “found something strange” with the bike in the race, and urged Yamaha to “provide” him a bike he can properly race with.
“Honestly, I feel good at every track, we show good potential,” he said.
“But it's always in the race [I struggle]. This race we found something strange on the bike, so we need to keep working and analysing.
“I just have to say, when the bike is there I'm always in the top two or three. Yamaha needs to provide me with a bike to race, and that's it.”
