MotoGP: Franco Morbidelli: Negative comments ‘hurt, although they may be legitimate’ | MotoGP

A MotoGP runner-up in 2020, Morbidelli looked anything but a contender in 2022 as he finished 19th in the world championship.

Out-performed by team-mate Fabio Quartararo in every race that the two finished aside from Buriram, Morbidelli recorded just two top ten finishes which is his worst return since joining the premier class in 2018.

Given his results, Morbidelli would likely have been at risk of losing his seat in the factory Yamaha team had he not already been locked in to a contract agreement until the end of next season.

With that said, drastic improvements will need to be made in 2023 if the Italian wants to avoid that scenario, which Morbidelli is very much aware of after claiming he has adjusted his way of riding to suit the current Yamaha package.

“It was a very difficult season, but the team and Yamaha always stood by me,” said Morbidelli. “The season was difficult, but I would say it ended well. Because we managed to change my approach to riding so much in the last part of the season and especially in the last two races that I was able to handle this bike a lot better .

“I’m happy about that. To get the potential out of this bike, you had to be a rider with a completely different DNA than mine.

“We’ve slowly managed to change my DNA this year – thanks to the team and Yamaha.”

Morbidelli came under heavy criticism for his performances throughout the year, whether that be ex-racers or fans, and although the 27 year-old is able to look beyond that now, at the time he found it tough to deal with even though he confirmed it to be fair.

The former Moto2 world champion made several uncharacteristic mistakes such as blocking other riders which led to several in-race Long Lap penalties, and thus was a great reason for the negativity surrounding his riding.

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Speaking about comments made from fans and the impact they created, both when positive or negative, Morbidelli said: “The comments from the fans are so much nicer and make you feel so much better when they’re positive. When they’re negative, they just hurt.

“A pain that needs to be brushed off as soon as possible. Such comments are not important, although they may be legitimate.

“Only the positive comments are important. Because the positive comments penetrate to your heart. Negative comments too, but you just have to smash them very quickly.”