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A ‘fake’ yellow flag and a crucial lap deletion left MotoGP frontrunner Pecco Bagnaia fuming after the opening day of practice in 2025. Valentin Khorounzhiy explains
After a contentious opening day of practice in 2025, MotoGP frontrunner Pecco Bagnaia expressed frustration with a controversial ‘fake’ yellow flag and a crucial lap deletion. Bagnaia missed out on qualifying directly for the Thailand Grand Prix Q2 session due to not finishing in the top 10 during afternoon practices. His anger stemmed from being impeded by fellow VR46 Academy protege Franco Morbidelli during a crucial push lap. Although upset with Morbidelli, Bagnaia directed more ire towards race direction for the incident. This led to Morbidelli receiving a 3-place grid penalty for disturbing Bagnaia during practice. The lap deletion, caused by an erroneous deployment of yellow flags, impacted Bagnaia’s and other riders’ fast laps, prompting dissatisfaction with race control’s decision not to reinstate the times. Despite disagreement, Bagnaia did not criticize the new stewarding regime led by Simon Crafar, feeling it was a race control-led decision.
