Fabio Quartararo says he is prepared to ‘listen to everyone’ as momentum begins to build in the race for the top seats on the grid for the 2025 MotoGP season with the Yamaha rider considered one of the key players.

The Frenchman will - like all but Pecco Bagnaia and Luca Marini - come up to the end of a contract by the conclusion of the season, a wide scope that has brought negotiations for next year to the fore despite a competitive wheel having not been turned in 2024 as yet.

While riders have been dismissive when asked about the future until racing gets underway, a number of key figures have been tipped to consider significant moves in twelve months, most notably Quartararo.

Quartararo has represented Yamaha since his MotoGP debut in 2019 but despite clinching the World Championship in 2021 with the factory outfit, he has been outspoken about the manufacturer’s decline in competitiveness since.

Prompting a major change in mentality and working practices within the Iwata marque’s flagship MotoGP team, Yamaha is hoping to have done enough to convince Quartararo to stay.

Speaking on the eve of the 2024 MotoGP season opener in Qatar, Quartararo admits Yamaha have indeed made sweeping changes across the board but hinted his future is open to negotiation.

“There is no deadline and no proper talks yet with Yamaha,” he said. “I think I will need a bit of time to see the project, the mentality of the team, how it goes with new engineers. I can say they are making steps but I think we have to listen to everyone.”

Quartararo’s comments come amid a level of uncertainty about Yamaha’s competitiveness coming into the new season.

The manufacturer showed strides in a handful of key areas where it has traditionally struggled - most notably top speed - but admits the M1 has had to sacrifice a level of balance in order to achieve this, which he believes will require some adaptation in 2024.

“Maybe on one lap it [the top speed] won’t make much of a difference, but in a race maybe it is less difficult to prepare an overtake or be closer to the guy in front. I think we can ride in a more similar way to other manufacturers. 

“It is true our aerodynamics are a bit lighter compared to the others but this proves that Yamaha is making some good steps and working a lot, because the bigger change we have during the winter is the top speed and we are pretty happy with that.”