Francesco Bagnaia battled to third place in the Sprint ahead of the Thailand Grand Prix after starting on pole position.
The Italian rider sits second in the standings with three rounds to go, and he lost critical points to the championship leader Jorge Martin in MotoGP.
Bagnaia started at the front of the field and headed into Thailand after a mixed run of form, winning in Japan although he retired at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The Ducati rider battled his title rival throughout the Sprint at Buriram but finished behind Martin in a controversial event.
Track limits were a key talking point in the Sprint, and Bagnaia explained to the MotoGP website that he can’t rely on one thing in the title battle.
Francesco Bagnaia ‘can’t keep believing in penalties’ in the title battle
Bagnaia and Martin battled throughout the Sprint in Thailand over second and place with vital championship points on the table.
The championship leader got past Bagnaia at Turn 6 as the Italian was struggling for raw speed in that section of the circuit.
Martin is being very secretive in MotoGP and crept onto the green-painted section on the edge of the track as he took the place.
The Spaniard ran over track limits on multiple occasions during the race but didn’t receive a penalty, keeping him ahead of Bagnaia.
Bagnaia explained after the race he saw Martin leave the track four times but he can’t rely on penalties in the title battle.
He said: “I saw him touching the green four times Jorge, and because we were on the limit. So was not an easy pace today, and we had to consider for tomorrow also to what to do with the rear tyres, because today the soft was quite good to remain on this pace and we had to see for tomorrow if the hard can be better.
“Honestly, I counted four, but maybe I was wrong. If that long lap is because he just touched it twice. But in any case, I don’t have to keep believing on penalties. I have to improve my performance and try to be better.”
Francesco Bagnaia needs some luck to intervene to win the championship
Bagnaia has performed admirably this season and he was incredibly competitive throughout the middle of the year, taking six wins in eight races.
The Italian rider is now 22 points behind the championship leader Martin with five races to go including the two Sprint events.
Bagnaia needs some luck to intervene in the closing stages as five wins in the final five events won’t be enough to usurp Martin.
It would be a significant moment for the Ducati rider if he can win the championship, taking his third title in four years.