Franco Morbidelli's recent performances in MotoGP raise many questions. After a promising 2020 season, the Italian is struggling to regain his former level. Critics are growing in number, and some, like Carmelo Ezpeleta, president of Dorna Sports, believe that certain drivers benefit from unjustified privileges.
Carmelo Ezpeleta does not beat around the bush: he declared that certain Spanish and Italian riders no longer have their place in MotoGP. THE
Thailand Grand Prix was once again a test for Morbidelliwhich did not arrive at the desired meeting point, compromising the race of
Fabio Quartararowho finally had a chance to shine. But at what point Franco Morbidelli
has he become a weight in the elite peloton?
Franco Morbidelli is no longer the young prodigy we once knew. After a timid start with
Hondahe shone on the MotoGP scene with the Yamaha Petronas en 2020winning his only victories and becoming vice-world champion. But now it's almost five years that those days are over. Between 2021 et 2023,
Morbidelli shared the box with
Quarterlyon the same bike that took the latter to a world title. And what was the result? No podium in two and a half yearsor 45 races without a single appearance on the podium!
Franco Morbidelli's current career seems more a matter of favor than a strategic choice
And what about his reward for this “performance”? He signed with Pramac Racingthe team that currently dominates the championship, and he finds himself driving a Ducati Desmosedici GP24. With an exceptional machine, only four competing drivers have the honor of riding it. So how many podiums Morbidelli was he able to harvest this season? None, of course.
His time at Pramac seems to be more of a favor than a strategic choice. This support from sponsors and
his link with Valentino Rossi seem to weigh more than his results on the track. The defenders of Morbidelli
have been talking about injuries since 2021, but the reality is brutal:
a pilot injured for four years is, in essence, an outdated pilot.
If results really mattered in this sport,
Morbidelli would already be on the sidelines, and his place would be coveted by a young talent ready to take the MotoGP scene by storm. Instead, he finds himself stuck in a downward spiral, a former champion in the making struggling to justify his current status. The end of a dream or a new beginning? Time will tell, but for now, the future of
Franco Morbidelli seems as uncertain as a bend in the fog.
