Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro has hammered MotoGP team-mate Andrea Iannone over comments he made about the development of the 2020 RS-GP.

Espargaro has taken issue with Iannone’s statement which intimated most the improvements were down to the Italian’s ideas.

“Painful decisions were made last year. We suffered all year, we focused on 2020 and the intention was successful,” said Iannone, who is involved in a doping investigation.

“I feel an integral part of this project, the motorcycle was made following my instructions.”

Espargaro said the statement was ‘super-disrespectful’ and that it was the end of a good relationship between the two.

“I have had many teammates in Aprilia, I’ve never had a problem with anybody in Aprilia. I feel that I have good friends with my teammates, also with Andrea,” said Espargaro.

But with what he said yesterday, for me, it’s the end our good relationship because what he said is a big disrespect to my engineers, my mechanics, to Bradley, because it’s not true.

“He knows perfectly it’s not true. I’ve been in Aprilia for four years, asking for this, pushing the engineers and finally this arrived.

“He used my settings all season and in 90 per cent of the sessions he was behind me. So, it’s not fair what he said for all the people around me, all the people in Aprilia.

“But we all know how Andrea is. I will continue to live my style of life and he will do his, and the future will decide.”