Vinales and Bagnaia were battling over third place on the fifth lap of Sunday’s grand prix at Le Mans when the Aprilia rider threw his bike up the inside of Bagnaia at Turn 11.
He ran wide and Bagnaia cut back to his inside, but as they changed direction for Turn 12 the pair collided and both ended up on the deck.
There was a brief spat in the gravel, but nothing came of it and the stewards did not punish either of the riders.
The crash saw Bagnaia’s championship lead cut to one point after Marco Bezzecchi won the race, but the Ducati rider is not upset with Vinales over what he feels is a racing incident.
“No, I’m not angry with Maverick,” he said when asked by Autosport about the incident.
“I didn’t like the reaction [from him in the gravel] because, for me, it was a bit too aggressive.
“But when you have that adrenaline, it can happen.
“When you crash because you were hit by a rider, or when you crash when you hit other riders, you are more angry because you feel like you’ve ruined your race or you’ve ruined a rider’s race.
“So, I’m not angry with him. I consider this like an unlucky circumstance, a racing incident. So, I’m not angry with him.”
Source: Autosport