Suzuki rider Mir finished the race on Sunday in seventh place and took the 2020 title with one lap remaining with an advantage of 29 points.
Vinales came 41 points behind Mir in the Valencia GP and needed a top 2 result to keep his hopes alive but could only get a distant 10th place. Vinales admitted he had nothing for the Suzuki rider, who hadn’t made a podium since his Misano win in September.
“I congratulated him,” he said when asked if he had said anything to me. “You [Suzuki and Mir] were really good, very strong. It’s a shame we get a zero, but what we showed at the end of the season was that we had nothing to fight for the title.
“To be honest, I can’t say too much. I just want to congratulate him for doing super well and that’s it. “
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When asked by Motorsport.com whether Vinales had found something for the race with his motorcycle, he admitted the 10th place he had.
“I think that was the maximum we could get today,” he added. “Of course we’re a long way from the other bikes, but I’m still positive. I do my job, I try to give the best possible information and now we’re thinking about Portimao. “
Petronas SRT’s Franco Morbidelli took his third win of the season on the 2019 M1 after leading almost the entire 27-lap competition. Vinales says he plans to use the bike next year in 2019 but hasn’t asked Yamaha to do so and isn’t sure the rules would allow it as he struggled so much with the 2020 M1.
“I do not think so [about Morbidelli] too honest, ”said Vinales. “I’m trying to do the job and go home happy and that’s it. I wish we could use [the 2019 bike] for the next season, but I don’t know if it’s possible.
“I don’t even ask about it. It’s 2020 so we choose it in the beginning and it’s what we have to work with. ”