Fabio Quartararo lamented a "rookie mistake" after twice crashing at the Dutch TT to see the 2022 MotoGP title race blown wide open again.
The Monster Energy Yamaha rider's lead over Aleix Espargaro at the top of the standings was cut from 34 points to 21 after failing to finish Sunday's race in Assen.
After a near blemish-free season up to this point, reigning world champion Quartararo uncharacteristically clattered into Espargaro early on when pushing for second place.
Both riders ended in the gravel, but whereas Espargaro was able to make up significant ground to finish fourth, Quartararo again came off his bike on lap 12.
He lost grip on his rear tyre and was sent flying over his handlebars in a nasty fall, with this his first MotoGP retirement since Valencia 2020.
Quartararo apologised to Espargaro immediately after the race, which was won by Francesco Bagnaia, and took full blame for the contentious incident.
"I made a rookie mistake. I wanted to push too much from the beginning," he told Canal+. "I apologise to Aprilia and to Aleix for putting him out of the track.
"It's with these mistakes that you learn for the future, but it was a really stupid mistake. We could very well have set a very good pace and fought for the win.
"These are mistakes that you learn from for the future. I wanted to restart and try to score some points, but I saw that the bike was a problem.
"I stopped, the team told me to restart in case of rain, but when I restarted, I could see that something was wrong.
"I tried, but I don't know [what happened]. We have to analyse the crash, but I lost the rear a bit abruptly, so we'll see what they say. I made a rookie mistake."
Despite seeing his lead cut, Quartararo still holds a healthy advantage at the top of the riders' standings heading into the five-week break.
Espargaro produced the ride of the day – and one of the best individual rides of the season – to recover from 15th after being sent off the track by his title rival.
The Aprilia rider overtook Jack Miller and Brad Binder on the final lap to finish just outside the podium places, but he could not make a serious dent in Quartararo's title lead.
"I was very strong in that place, and Fabio knew it," Espargaro said of the early collision. "The reason Fabio did his movement is because his feeling with the bike is super-high.
"We saw it also in Germany, corner one with [the overtake on Bagnaia]. He's not a dirty rider, but his confidence is that high.
"Today, it's not that he was arrogant. But because he felt super, a lot faster than the rest, he made a bad judgment.
"I knew this could happen. From this moment I said to myself – Fabio is almost perfect, he made no mistakes during the season, so if he makes one mistake you have to profit."
Ducati's poleman Bagnaia led from the start to move back to within 66 points of Quartararo with nine rounds to go.
The Italian, who is fourth in the championship, now has three wins and three retirements in his past six races.
Bagnaia never looked like relinquishing first place to Marco Bezzecchi, although he admitted to being "terrified" of a third DNF in a row when rain hit late on in the Netherlands.
"Looking at the gap with Bezzecchi, he was always catching," Bagnaia said. "I had to push again, I had to open this gap again to be smarter and more calm again later in the race.
"But then the rain came. When I saw the rain, I just slowed down a bit, but Bezzecchi was pushing again.
"So, it was very difficult. I was terrified to crash again, so the main thing was to finish the race. It wasn't easy, but I tried to be smart, I tried to not push over the limit."
'Like driving on ice' - Verstappen and Red Bull struggle in Vegas practice
Max Verstappen claimed that his Red Bull felt like "driving on ice" after struggling in Friday practice ahead of his potential coronation at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen entered the weekend hoping to leave with a fourth world title, but a fifth and 17th place finish in the opening practice sessions suggested it would be far from easy.
The Dutchman posted a soft-tyre lap just before Alex Albon caused a red flag midway through the second session, with Verstappen unable to improve on his time after that.
It left him two seconds off the pace set by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, revealing that the cold temperatures had an effect on his tyres.
"For me, it feels massively tyre-related. The balance of the car is not even wrong, I think," he said. "We just have no grip, like driving on ice at the moment."
“Yeah, [it was] slippery. I think we struggled a lot with making the tyres work, over one lap especially.
“The long run I think started off a bit more competitive, but even there I think we need to fine-tune a few things. The one-lap pace is quite far off.
“It’s quite unique conditions around here, and it’s very cold, but at the end of the day it’s the same for everyone, so we need to try and understand what we’re doing wrong."
Red Bull were down in the speed traps and Helmut Marko revealed the team had the wrong rear wing which has put them on the back foot.
However, after topping the timesheets in both practice sessions, Hamilton was left mystified by Mercedes’ surprisingly strong pace after a poor showing in Interlagos last time out.
The seven-time world champion clocked the fastest lap of the day as drivers up and down the grid struggled to extract performance around the low-grip track.
His team-mate George Russell was similarly impressive, finishing in P2 and P3 across the two sessions to indicate that Mercedes are the team to beat this weekend.
“I mean that’s the first time I’ve had a day like that this year. The car was feeling generally good in FP1, in FP2 less so," Hamilton said.
“Difficult to know exactly where we are or why we are where we are but really enjoying driving the track and I think we’ll see whether the car is the same tomorrow.
“The race pace is not that great so the work we have to do overnight is to figure out how to have better race pace without losing actual pace throughout the lap.
"But it was nice to get like consecutive sectors, and the car not throwing me off which was nice."
Piastri aiming for win in Las Vegas with Norris title chances looking slim
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is targeting victory in Las Vegas on Sunday following the implosion of team-mate Lando Norris' Championship bid.
While it is still mathematically possible that Norris could catch Max Verstappen – who will secure a fourth successive title by bettering the Brit this weekend – his chances are slim.
As a result of Norris' title bid, Piastri had been under orders to prioritise his team-mate above himself. But with McLaren leading Ferrari in the constructors' championship by 36 points, it is likely focus will shift there.
"There's still some, let's say, very specific scenarios where I might be needed to help out. But for the very large majority of situations, it's back to how it was," Piastri told reporters in Las Vegas.
"The drivers' championship picture is very slim, and the constructors' championship is certainly not over for us.
"So, it's a very specific few scenarios that maybe I'll still help out if that's what I'm asked to do, but I'm going into the weekend trying to win."
Ahead of his potential coronation, Verstappen struggled on the first day of practice in Las Vegas, finishing in 17th.
Norris, meanwhile, was second-fastest behind Lewis Hamilton. Piastri finished in eighth, although bizarrely reported that his car would not turn off after reaching the pit lane, although the issue was eventually resolved.
Separately from Piastri, Norris had told reporters that – despite previous orders for Piastri to let him pass in races – the team had always come first and that would not change.
"Everything we've done, we've just swapped a position," he said.
"It benefited me because I was in the fight for the championship and that's the game we also have to play, just as I've helped Oscar in a few occasions and helped him win in Baku, you know. I did my job there.
"I think Andrea [Stella] made it very clear from the beginning that we would never do something that would make the team result worse. So no, nothing is going to change."
Norris believes he has 'what it takes’ for future world title after Verstappen battle
Lando Norris believes he has what it takes to challenge for a world title in the future after his battle with Max Verstappen during the 2024 season.
Norris arrives at the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend 62 points behind Verstappen, knowing a win is a must if he is to keep his faint world championship hopes alive.
Verstappen and Red Bull started the campaign as they left off last year, only for Norris and McLaren to emerge as genuine contenders after a series of car developments.
On a dramatic weekend in Brazil, Norris reduced the Dutchman's advantage to 44 points by winning in the Sprint race, but that victory proved to be in vain.
Despite starting 17th on the grid, Verstappen regained his sizeable margin with a stunning wet weather performance, and can clinch a fourth world title in Sin City this weekend.
When asked what he had learned from this season, Norris said: “That I have what it takes. It’s the first time in the last six years of F1 that we’ve had a chance to fight at the front.
"This is our, and my, first opportunity to do so, and my first opportunity to see where I stand.
“I definitely was not at the level I needed to be at the beginning of the year, even [after beating Verstappen to a maiden win] in Miami.
"Since the summer break I feel like I’ve done a very good job and performed very, very well – by far some of my best performances that I’ve done.
“I’ve been very happy with how the last few months have gone, honestly. I wouldn’t change many things that have happened.
"I still need to make tweaks and I still need to improve on things, that’s clear. I’m not completely satisfied with how I’ve done and I definitely know I need to make improvements.
“But, for the first time, I’m confident to say I have what I think I need to fight for a championship. It doesn’t mean I’m complete, it doesn’t mean I’m perfect.
"When you’re competing against drivers who are close to that, like Max, you have to be close to perfect if you want to challenge him.”
Despite Norris' disappointment, this weekend marks an opportunity for McLaren to edge closer to a first constructors' championship since 1998.
The British-based team are currently 36 points ahead of Ferrari at the top of the standings with two races and a sprint remaining this season.
McLaren have 19 podiums in 2024, their best record in a campaign since 2007 (24). In only four years have they achieved more (20 in 1998, 22 in 2000, 24 in 2007 and 25 in 1988), though Norris insisted the battle was far from over.
“Ferrari have been strong for a long time,” said Norris. “They have two very good drivers, they’re a very good team, they’ve clearly improved their car a good amount and found a better direction to head down.
“They probably will be with us. Some races are a bit better, some races a little bit behind, some races the same as a competition. Maybe [the momentum is] a little bit with them, but we’re close. Red Bull are close at the same time.
“It’s more about who can do a better performance on a weekend. We do know that Vegas is probably a track that will suit the Ferraris a bit more.
"It suited them well last year, but we know Qatar will be more favourable to us.”
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