Espargaro: “My reaction was not good, I apologised to my team”

Espargaro was let out of the factory Aprilia garage before the session was underway which resulted in him being stuck at the end of pit lane.

The double race winner at Catalunya returned to his garage after being pushed back by some Moto3 mechanics, before shouting and hitting his spare bike.

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What was a huge show of frustration for Espargaro, who then went on to qualify in tenth, was then followed by a DNF in the sprint after crashing out at the final corner.

Speaking after the race, Espargaro told MotoGP.com: "Some days it’s just better to stay in bed and not go out. Today was one of those days. 

"I struggled a lot in qualifying when trying to do a fast lap and tenth place on the grid is a really bad result. 

"In the sprint I was blocked in turn one by the Marini and Bez crash. Then I was completely wide when trying to recover positions. 

"Today the race was not good and I was not really fast on the bike and then crashed. We will try tomorrow."

When asked specifically about the miscommunication with his team at the start of qualifying, Espargaro was angered as he felt his engine and tyres were suffering.

Espargaro came under criticism on social media for his outburst, but said ‘I don’t care’ about the response to his actions.

"We made a big mistake on the communication side and it’s quite dangerous for the engine, tyres, but anyway, my reaction was not good," began Espargaro. 

"I apologised to my mechanics, to my guys because it was not a good reaction. But sometimes it is like this when you have a lot of tension. 

"I don’t care [about social media reaction]. It’s my team, my family and obviously I make mistakes when there is a lot of tension but we talk and it’s good to be open."