Franco Morbidelli has launched an outspoken attack on the FIM MotoGP stewards panel, lambasting them as overworked and overwhelmed, after he was sanctioned for contact with Aleix Espargaro in the penultimate corner of Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.
Morbidelli – who nudged his way past Espargaro in the final lap, in a move that triggered biting criticism from the Aprilia man – was initially demoted three places according to the official results, but that was soon amended to a three-second penalty, the equivalent of a long-lap sanction. This dropped him to 11th rather than the 13th place he was initially demoted to.
However even the fact that the stewards initially got the official wording of the unappealable penalty wrong is, according to Morbidelli, indicative of the problems that riders are now facing from the stewards’ panel.
“My opinion is that they’re just overwhelmed with the workload that they have,” he said after the race. “Watching the green Moto3 guys rubbing around all race long, the Moto2 guys rubbing around also, the big guys… rubbing around! By the time they arrive to the big guys they’re electric, it’s like they can’t think anymore.
“They just make their decision and they won’t listen to nobody. They make their decision with huge speed, right after the race, and they’re not prepared and not open to overrule their decision. They never, never, I think never once, overruled a decision, and that shows a huge pride in their thought process – and pride should be out of a judgement process.
“There’s never been an overruling. In football, you can see this [with VAR], in other sports, because it’s normal to make mistakes and overrule a decision. We need to discuss this.”
One of the most eloquent riders on the grid, Morbidelli was also able to elaborate on what he believes is part of the issue: essentially being backed into a corner by the pressures put upon the panel (headed by former world champion Freddie Spencer) by attempts to balance safety and entertainment.
“Comments on social media, comments on television; this is how the world goes right now, but I feel that the people who should judge us, regulate us, and protect us as well as protecting the audience by keeping the show alive, I believe that they’re not balancing these things quite in the right way, and there will have to be some discussion and dialogue to correct this mechanism.
“This mechanism should be balanced between the safety of the riders and the show, and the care of the audience. And even care of us, because if I cannot make an overtake in the second last corner, where there is a s*** load of space, on a bike that can’t overtake on the straights, I mean – you don’t even care about me.
“We’re just riding around in lines. I think that this scale mechanism isn’t working quite right.”
And while he was happy to accept a penalty on Saturday for cruising on the racing line during FP3, Morbidelli felt that Sunday’s decision was obviously wrong and that it needs to be used as an example going forwards of how the stewards can do better.
“I think it’s time to sit down and talk, really talk openly. Even if they’re making the right decision, like it was yesterday, there’s not really a dialogue between the main characters of the episode. There’s not a dialogue between the stewards panel and you, and I believe that these people are under huge pressure, and I feel that they’re overwhelmed by this kind of pressure.”
