Franco Morbidelli was very upset by what happened in the second free practice session for the Qatar Grand Prix, when Aleix Espargaro attacked him with a helmet slap on the track. The Italian explained what happened. “We were in practice, Alex Marquez went down in turn two and there were yellow flags. Jorge Martin braked in front of me and I slowed down. When we got to turn four, Alex passed me. I passed him after that, because I wanted to recover my position, but then he passed me like crazy in turn 6, and we were About to collide. When I was trying to ask him to calm down, he hit me and started pointing, like he always does. I tried to tell him to calm down and “He did what you all saw. It was a huge disrespect,” Morbidelli said, even before the sprint.

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Espargaro was punished with the loss of six places on the grid for today’s race – he will not race because he suffered an injury in the sprint, in a collision with Miguel Oliveira – and a fine of 10,000 euros, a punishment that the Italian considers too lenient. “I suppose the referees analyzed the situation and took the measures they considered appropriate. But for me they did nothing. What he did was so disrespectful that in other sports things would have been handled differently. But it’s all good and I’m moving on.”

He then pointed out that this was not the first time the Spaniard had reacted this way: “Slap the driver on his helmet as he moves, why is he asking you to be quiet while raising the yellow flag? What kind of reaction is that?” I think we all think Alex he has a problem. Those who work with him and those who have seen what he has done during his career know this, because there are more incidents to be ashamed of. And many more.”