Pedro Acosta has admitted that Fabio Di Giannantonio’s last-lap maneuver at the French Grand Prix left him irritated—not just because he lost fourth place, but because the Italian made a point of glancing back at him after the pass.
On the final lap at Le Mans, Di Giannantonio swept past the Red Bull KTM rider at the Raccordement double right-hander, then deliberately looked over his shoulder—twice—as the pair raced toward the finish line. The gesture clearly struck a nerve with the 21-year-old Acosta.
“I’m noting it down for next time,” Acosta told the Spanish press with a hint of humor. “Nobody passes me while looking at me. We’ll see each other again in the next race.”
The remark sets up the possibility of an intense rematch at this weekend’s Barcelona round. Adding intrigue is the fact that Di Giannantonio is expected to take Acosta’s seat at the factory KTM team next season—a signing that, while not officially confirmed, is understood to have been completed the evening before the race.
Acosta, who has already signed his own move to the factory Ducati squad, was equally blunt about his own mistakes in the closing stages. He admitted misjudging the threat from behind and losing time with overly defensive lines.
“Maybe fourth place was what I could have secured, but I thought Di Giannantonio was closer than he actually was, and I went to defend myself more than necessary,” he said.
When pressed about his irritation with the Italian during an English-language press conference, Acosta sidestepped the question and focused on his strategic error.
“Anyway, today was my fault because I was thinking that he was much closer, and I was maybe too defensive, or defending too much. And then, I mean, I f***ed up the whole lap, let’s say. But one position more, one position less was not going to make a big difference.”