“Impossible” to aim for MotoGP wins on Yamaha – Vinales

Vinales was buoyed by Yamaha’s upturn in form on Friday at the Algarve International Circuit, admitting it was the best he’d felt on the bike since the Misano double-header following a miserable recent run. 

Having had grip on the M1 on Friday, it disappeared on Saturday and Vinales could only manage eighth in qualifying behind the SRT duo of Fabio Quartararo (fifth) and Franco Morbidelli (second). 

At a loss to explain his dip in form on Saturday, Vinales said: “It is the same most of the weekends. 

“We don’t improve during the weekend. I was super-fast in FP1, also in FP2 very fast and consistent. 

“And then every practice [it] got worse and worse. In FP4 I did four good laps but the rest was a disaster, so… I don’t have an explanation, I don’t know.

“You have to ask Yamaha because for me it is very repetitive and everything I talk [about] and I don’t want to make an excuse.

“I don’t know. When the bike goes, I put full gas and [something] that way I can do the same, but so. I can’t say too much.”

When asked by Motorsport.com how hard it was to keep positive when the bike seemingly keeps working against him, he added: “Basically I put my expectation very low, that’s it.

“This is the way I try to keep myself calm because I don’t have the same expectation as I had before.

“Always my mentality was winning, winning, winning. Now I understand it is impossible to do it, so [I have to] lower the expectation.

“It’s most of the same during all the weekends, we started to work on a level and then we are slowing down the pace.

“So not much to say. No one knows the solution. I try to stay positive, I try to stay calm and work on the bike. 

“From one tyre to the other it’s sometimes one second [pace difference] and the next time you don’t have feeling and the next time I don’t know.”