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Maverick Vinales has seemingly conceded that Yamaha’s account of his “irregular” actions in last week’s Styrian Grand Prix was entirely accurate, by issuing an unconditional apology to his MotoGP team.
Yamaha dropped the bombshell news earlier this week that Vinales would be suspended from this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix for “unexplained irregular operation of the motorcycle” – intimating there had been a deliberate attempt to sabotage his M1 at the Red Bull Ring.
It appears Vinales had been trying to destroy the engine of his bike during the final laps of last week’s race.
In attendance at this weekend’s race despite his suspension, Vinales spoke briefly to TV cameras ahead of qualifying – and issued an apology to Yamaha for his actions.
“Well as you know the situation is sad, it’s sad for me,” he said.
“In the end I had a lot of frustration, and I want to apologise to Yamaha because in the end everything was about frustration, and also a lot of nerves.
“I rode the bike in a different way, in the last lap.
“It was a big explosion of emotion, frustration.
“In any case I didn’t want to damage anyone, not even myself, and I’m very sad about how things were going until now.
“There is a lot of frustration in me because a lot of races didn’t go the way I thought they would in my head.
“It was a moment of big frustration because the start of the first race was perfect.
“I came back from holidays with a lot of energy and wanted to do good, but then the second race start was bad.
“There was an explosion within me that I wasn’t able to channel in the right way. I want to say sorry for the way I was riding in the last few laps, and I ask them to forgive me.”
He also admitted that being trackside this weekend in Austria has been tough on him, as he’s forced to watch team-mate Fabio Quartararo, who qualified on the front row for tomorrow’s race, as Yamaha’s sole factory rider.
“It was very difficult because I felt very sad,” Vinales added.
“I have a warrior’s soul and I want to be there on the track fighting every lap.
“It wasn’t like that, but it’s a decision from Yamaha that I respect. I’m still a rider for them and I respect their decision.”
While his apology might have been delivered with sincerity, it’s widely believed in the MotoGP paddock that Vinales’ time as a Yamaha rider is over and done with, with few seeing a path that will allow him to return to action for the team before the end of the season given his actions in last Sunday’s race.
Still officially only suspended from this weekend’s race, that might change come Monday when Yamaha’s senior management in Japan return from annual summer holidays under which much of the country takes time off in early August.
It also comes as rumours continue to circulate the paddock about damage inflicted upon Vinales’ team-issued scooter following last Sunday’s race, with reports that people in his entourage took out their frustration on the bike following Vinales’ failure to finish the race at the Red Bull Ring.
Cal Crutchlow is currently expected to be on what had been Vinales’ bike for the next round of the series in Britain.
