MotoGP, is a renewal between Quartararo and Yamaha looking increasingly unlikely?

Every rider’s goal is to become world champion and last year Fabio Quartararo was able to do just that, securing the title with consistency and conviction and returning the trophy to Yamaha for the first time in six years. His relationship with the M1 has always been solid, but it now looks as if things are no longer moving in the right direction. That ninth-place finish in Qatar, along with the rider's clear dissatisfaction, is signficant, and comes in the same year that his contract with Yamaha is due to expire. So will the marriage continue?

Quartararo covered his back over the winter

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Over the winter, the young Frenchman made it clear that he’d only continue with the Iwata manufacturer if the bike were competitive. During pre-season testing, he failed to find the power he was hoping for, and the first GP also proved disappointing from his standpoint. The ninth-place finish has done little to boost morale, the rider even having to tackle Q1 on Saturday, during what turned out to be a tough round for all the Yamaha riders. If we consider how, just one year ago, "El Diablo" was celebrating the win at Losail, the current situation is glaringly different.

Yamaha needs a strategy

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The riders’ market is still to get going, but this first round already raises an important question, or rather, will Yamaha and Quartararo renew their contract? Only time will tell, but manager Eric Mahe has confirmed his rider’s dissatisfaction while talking to Canal+: “The technical development of the bike doesn’t seem as promising as we’d hoped”. Nothing new then, but guarantees will be needed if the manufacturer wants to retain a talent like Quartararo, MotoGP world champion at just 22 years of age, in only his third season in MotoGP. Mahe added: “It’s fundamental that we understand what the Yamaha of the future will look like. Once we understand that, we’ll start to think about the future”. Quartararo is undoubtedly hot property on the market, but the Iwata manufacturer will need to play its cards right in order to keep him.

Translated by Heather Watson

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