Franco Morbidelli, yet again: 14 warnings and penalties in two MotoGP seasons

With self-deprecating humor and a witty, memorable comparison, Franco Morbidelli joked about it by posting on his Instagram account the famous celebration by Mario Balotelli when he showed the shirt “Why always me?.” “Why always me?,” in short. Having qualified directly for Q2 of the official MotoGP qualifying at Misano Adriatico, the 2017 Moto2 World Champion will however have to serve a Long Lap Penalty on Sunday in the race for impeding Enea Bastianini. It’s his fourth sanction in the last five rounds, the sixth of the season, but the list is far more substantial.

Even Alessio “Uccio” Salucci, team principal of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, recently quipped, “This year with Franky we’re in the Stewards Panel room more than in the garage.” Said jokingly, but not entirely, considering that in the two-year period during which the 2020 MotoGP vice-World Champion represented Valentino Rossi’s team, he has been warned and/or penalized by Crafar and company on 14 separate occasions.

A list comprising 14 episodes officially sanctioned by the Stewards Panel, almost evenly split: 8 in 2025, 6 this year. Last season he started right away at Buriram with a 3-place grid penalty for slowing Pecco Bagnaia on the racing line during Practice. Similar story three months later at Silverstone at the expense of Marco Bezzecchi (again in Practice), before arriving at the double sanction at Mugello: a first Long Lap Penalty for hitting Maverick Viñales in the race, repeated because he did not execute it correctly the first time. Morbidelli was then penalized with 1 Long Lap Penalty at Assen as well for cutting a chicane without losing 1" in that sector and, for a similar incident, had to give up 1 position in the race at Balaton Park. Then came the contact in the Sprint with Jorge Martin in Barcelona, which led to the imposition of serving another Long Lap Penalty the next day in the race, where he compounded matters: failure to follow the marshals’ instructions after crashing in the race, earning a €2,000 fine and suspension for the first 10 minutes of FP1 at the next Misano Grand Prix.

Franco Morbidelli’s (sporting) rap sheet has grown further in this 2026 season. In Q1 at Jerez, after a technical issue, he didn’t stop and brought his Ducati back to the pits, flooding the final sector with oil; the Stewards Panel fined him €1,000 and handed him a 5-minute penalty in FP1 at Le Mans. At that Grand Prix, during Warm Up, he impeded Toprak Razgatlioglu, earning a Long Lap Penalty. Then came Assen with a 3-place grid drop for slowing Enea Bastianini in the final 20 minutes of Practice, much like what happened with Pedro Acosta at the Sachsenring (same penalty). Two out of two finally between Aragon and Misano: an official warning for ignoring yellow flags in Q2 at the Aragon Grand Prix and, lastly, a Long Lap Penalty at Misano for slowing Bastianini during Practice. The fourteenth episode in the last two years, almost bordering on the pathological...