Reigning 2021 MotoGP World Champion Fabio Quartararo has sent a strong warning to Yamaha, stating his unwillingness to give the Iwata factory another chance to supply him with the necessary motorcycle. This follows a difficult weekend for the driver in question at Silverstone when he qualified dead last and finished the British Grand Prix in 15th place. A year ago, Quartararo was in the driver's seat for the MotoGP championship, but he lost to Francesco Bagnaia of the Ducati Lenovo Team. Three podium finishes and no victories have been all that Fabio has managed since the 2022 British Grand Prix. His apparent lack of patience with the Iwata factory's performance is seen in his imposition of a deadline before the Misano Test. Despite his desire to continue his partnership with Yamaha, Quartararo has challenged the Japanese company.
MotoGP: Yamaha 2023 Struggle
Yamaha, realising that the M1's top speed is its biggest weakness compared to Ducati's, has focused on improving it for 2023. The Japanese team gained optimism in this area after the initial winter testing sessions. The start of the new season, however, revealed that Yamaha's initial optimism was unwarranted and had a deleterious effect on the team's overall performance. And the M1 wasn't performing as expected because it couldn't reach its top speed as anticipated. This meant that Yamaha's distinctive agility, which had previously differentiated its efforts and provided a significant advantage over rivals, was diminished.
Quartararo is in 11th in the standings after nine rounds, with teammate Franco Morbidelli close behind in 12th. These results are discouraging for the year 2023. With Quartararo's notable third-place finishes in the Americas GP and Dutch GP sprint race, they have a combined total of one grand prix podium. As the summer break came to a close, hopes were high that things would turn around for the better. But in terms of point totals, Yamaha riders fared the worst at Silverstone.
Quartararo's current contract is set to expire at the end of 2024, and he is not expected to terminate it due to a lack of suitable alternatives. But his continued partnership with Yamaha will depend on how the French rider rates the company's ability to meet his needs.
Quartararo has stated that he is losing patience with Yamaha because of its failure to provide the package he requires. The initial prototypes for the 2024 season will be tested at the Misano test next month, which will take place directly after the San Marino GP.
Also Read: MotoGP: Yamaha Sign Alex Rins for 2024 Season
MotoGP: Morbidelli to Ducati?
With Yamaha's announcement that they have signed Alex Rins from LCR Honda for the 2024 season, questions over the future of Franco Morbidelli have arisen. The limited capacity of the 2024 MotoGP grid necessitates a critical juncture for the Italian rider to determine the trajectory of his MotoGP career. When queried, Paolo Ciabatti, the Sporting Director of Ducati Corse, expressed a remarkably positive opinion on the 2020 runner-up, conveying a sense of quiet confidence over the individual's future prospects.
“I think Franco Morbidelli is in a difficult moment, but he has great talent. We would like to see Morbidelli on a Ducati next year. We will see what happens in the next few weeks,” Ducati Corse Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti explained.
Yamaha opted to cancel its contractual agreement with Morbidelli in order to get the services of Alex Rins, who is already associated with LCR Honda. Despite his impressive showing on a motorcycle that is generally agreed to be difficult to ride, Honda's solitary race winner for the year, Rins, will leave the Japanese company because he felt he was not receiving enough support.
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