While most F1 fans dozed off during the Spanish Grand Prix, anyone who had seen MotoGP on the Red Bull Ring an hour earlier was probably still biting their nails. What happened there could have ended in a downright drama, with major consequences for the biggest champion on two wheels.
Valentino Rossi was barelly missed by the flying bike of Franco Morbidelli, who passed at high speed when Rossi entered the slow turn three. It went so fast that the champion didn't even notice it at first.
"The images from my camera are the ones that scare me the most," says Rossi on his Instagram account. "Because from here you can understand the speed at which Franco's bike crossed the track right in front of me. She passed by so fast, I didn't even see her. When I got back into the pits, I was shocked enough to see Zarco's bike literally fly over Maverick's head."
Criticism of Zarco
It wasn't until later in the garage box that Rossi really saw how lucky he was at this incident. Last Sunday's footage showed that the Italian then literally had his hands in his hair. In his comments afterwards he was especially stiff for Johann Zarco, who would have made a too aggressive movement to the right during braking.