Morbidelli remains on the ‘A-spec’ M1 for the 2021 season, which is practically a slightly improved 2019 Yamaha on which he rode in second place in the championship last season, taking three of the Japanese brand’s seven wins.
Yamaha won all three races in 2021 courtesy of its factory duo Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo on the upgraded factory M1, with the latter leading the overall standings by 15 points.
Morbidelli struggled at the Grand Prix of Qatar with a technical problem in 18th place and is currently 11th in the drivers’ standings after 12th and fourth places in the laps of Doha and Portugal.
The Italian expressed frustration with his situation at Yamaha following his GP problems in Qatar, but went back to them later.
Former Yamaha factory rider Lorenzo, however, believes Morbidelli is not being treated the way he should, but needs to focus on “showing Yamaha that it is wrong”.
“Well, my opinion may be pretty strong, but I think Yamaha is not treating Franco the best in this case because [he] was second overall last year, ”said Lorenzo on his YouTube show with 99 seconds.
“Ducati gives the four drivers [at its factory squad and Pramac] practically the same bike and Yamaha doesn’t do it, exactly with Franco.
“Now I believe Franco should demand the same treatment from Yamaha and he does it well by threatening in quotes and starting to talk to other factories or the other factories that want him.
“But once he’s on his helmet and step on the bike, he has to focus on getting the best out of it and showing Yamaha that he’s wrong by not treating him the same way.”
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Lorenzo also commented on Vinales’ main weaknesses as a driver after running hard to 11th at Portimao and then being dejected.
“He’s young and will come out of it and win races again,” said Lorenzo.
“It is clear that it has two disadvantages that limit it a lot.
“The first is the start; he has to improve that, he has to try very seriously to improve them because they limit him in a big way.
“And then those emotional ups and downs that I think he has, I think he has to be a lot more consistent because there will always be problems in the end.
“The Yamaha won’t ride well on some circuits, you will be on others who are not fast on the track or on the motorcycle and cannot go fast.
“You will have falls, injuries, moments when you are physically or emotionally worse and there you have to be consistent, always think positive, try to get the maximum possible points without excuses and say that everything is a disaster. “