Pecco Bagnaia was left feeling disappointed after the Thailand Grand Prix in MotoGP, where he finished third, just like in the Sprint, behind the Márquez brothers. In the post-race interview, he expressed his frustration, saying “Marc Márquez has played with us.” This comment was reminiscent of his teacher at the Academy, Valentino Rossi, who had a similar experience in Australia back in 2015. Bagnaia later endorsed this statement on Dazn, possibly unaware of Márquez’s explanation that he had issues with his tire pressure.
## Summary
Bagnaia reflected on his performance, saying “Either I had much more, and it was much easier to overtake, or I had a slightly better rhythm than Álex, but every time I approached him, I lost again.” He acknowledged that Márquez and his brother Álex had done a better job, having conducted extensive testing with a great feeling for the setup. Although Bagnaia’s team had made improvements, they weren’t as significant as he had hoped, and he struggled to keep up with Márquez. Despite this, he remains focused on the next race, recognizing that consistency and securing points will be crucial for the rest of the season.
## What expects for the rest of the World Cup
Looking ahead, Bagnaia hopes to find a better rhythm with his motorcycle from the start, as this weekend he only had time to work on it since Saturday morning’s second free practice. Due to changes and testing on Friday, he felt that his progress was hindered. However, considering the challenges he faced, finishing in third position wasn’t a bad outcome. To improve, Bagnaia believes it’s essential to understand what can be done differently, especially since the motorcycle is similar to the GP24 from last year, but he still feels there’s room for growth.
## Did Marc play?
When asked to clarify his statement about Márquez “playing” with them, Bagnaia explained that if Márquez had wanted to, he could have won the race with a significant margin of over five seconds. He pointed out that Márquez had already gained a second on Álex and was simply waiting for the right moment to make his move, ultimately deciding to take the lead with two laps to go. This left Bagnaia with the impression that Márquez had much more to give and was, in a way, pushing the pace as he saw fit.