Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo arrives in Austria just 22 points clear in the MotoGP Championship fight.

With eight races left on the table in 2022, and both Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia hot on his wheels - especially after the Italian’s recent run of form on the top step - Quartararo is under pressure for results at a track that has garnered him two podium visits in the premier class to date.

“I feel quite good,” Quartararo said from Spielberg ahead of round 13. “After Silverstone I was a bit disappointed, but I used that energy in a productive way. I‘ve been doing a lot of training, and I feel focused and ready for the weekend. With no penalties pending, this GP will feel more ’normal‘.

“Our only goal is to do the best job we possibly can here. We know Spielberg is not our strongest track, but I got third here in 2019 and 2021. If we keep the right attitude and work hard, we can get good results.

“The second race last year we finished in seventh but before the rain we were fighting quite hard for the podium and victory. So we have the speed, we know how critical it is during the race for us.

“For pace it’s not a bad track for us but to overtake is where we have more hard work but I wouldn’t say it’s a really bad track for us and I think with the chicane it will be a bit better.

"Of course I’m pushing Yamaha to bring something, but there is nothing more extra,” he continued on the M1’s progression. “As a rider I’m learning a lot, I think since the beginning of the season until now I’ve made a massive step and I think I can continue making steps between now and the end of the Championship.

“I feel like we are playing way too far from the rules and I think we are taking a little bit too much care,” he elaborated. “Already for next year's bike I think is changing a little bit the way. I think also with the new engineer that is coming to Yamaha. So I feel is changing a little bit, maybe still too slow, but at least I see that they are taking a little bit the European mentality, well especially Italian but I think this is the way to really try many things. We need to try whatever they have in mind. We need to give it a try.

“With Pecco we've really never had a proper one race battle,” he concluded of his coming rival. “We had a long championship battling so of course he's a super tough, I mean in this room and in the championship there is the best riders of the world so everyone here is tough to finish in front!”