Johann Zarco's Monster Yamaha team boss Herve Poncharal believes his rider is feeling the pressure of being tipped as a race winner and MotoGP title contender in 2018.
The Frenchman topped the final day of testing at Qatar but only just scraped into qualifying two with ex-GP rider Simon Crafar observing he doesn't look entirely comfortable on or off the bike, braking in different areas and not riding as smoothly as usual.
"We had a great test two weeks ago, everything was good, easy, he was enjoying himself, riding how he can ride with a smooth style. Yesterday, he will be the first to admit the pressure from people telling him he can win races and even be a title contender is very new for him in this class," said Poncharal.
"Clearly, Johann is a bit under pressure here. He is not riding like he can ride but I think it is logical, it is a normal process. He is coming from his rookie season where everything he was doing was magic and now everyone expects him to fight the top guys and eventually win. I think he is clever and hopefully he has been thinking and digesting this."
