Franco Morbidelli recently opened up about this season, describing it as a great year despite failing to secure a podium finish on the best bike.

After two challenging seasons with Yamaha’s factory team, Morbidelli joined Pramac this year alongside Jorge Martin, which gave him the chance to ride Ducati’s GP24 prototype. However, a training crash ruled him out of all official tests, leaving him unable to ride his new bike until the season opener in Qatar.

As the season progressed, Morbidelli managed to adapt to the bike and began showing promising results, including a fifth-place finish at the German Grand Prix. Yet, he struggled to fully unlock the potential of the bike and ultimately finished ninth in the standings, behind all the other GP24 riders.

Reflecting on his campaign, Morbidelli emphasized the importance of considering his struggles when assessing his performance. He believes he is close to making the necessary improvements to be able to fight for victories, something he hasn’t achieved since 2020.

“Overall, it was a great year for the whole team and for me,” he said. “I came back to fighting for the top spots, and I’m really close. I’m looking forward to making the final steps that will allow me to get wins and podiums consistently, as I want. We made a great comeback from the last two years, and it’s been a positive season.”

He added, “I lost some points at the beginning of the year. I think I could have fought for P5 in the championship—not P4, P3, P2, or P1, but P5 was within reach.”

Throughout the year, Morbidelli showed glimpses of his talent but often struggled to achieve consistent results. In Buriram, he delivered a remarkable performance, climbing from 11th to sixth in wet conditions. However, a penalty for causing a crash ruined his efforts.

Morbidelli, who is set to move to the VR46 team in 2025, acknowledged that there are still areas he needs to improve to reach his full potential.

“I didn’t manage to win this year. I only got one podium in a sprint race at Misano. There’s definitely room to improve, and there are still things to manage better,” he admitted. “It always seems like I have the speed, but there’s always something missing in a race.

“Probably, I need to work better with the team, especially on arranging the settings and other elements for the race.”