Fabio Quartararo has offered an honest appraisal of Yamaha’s current struggles in MotoGP, revealing he is ‘pissed off’ that there are no solutions on the table to improve his fortunes.
The Frenchman has endured a trying start to the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season with just a single podium finish in the United States representing his only top six finish of the year.
Indeed, his issues were dealt a harder spotlight last time out at Jerez - a venue where Quartararo and Yamaha have enjoyed significant success in the past - when he struggled for ultimate pace and lapped significantly slower than the previous year.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, the rift between Quartararo and Yamaha appears to show, with the 11-time race winner revealing his frustration at the lack of a way forward with the M1 package.
"In meetings there is often silence, no one speaks. Nobody knows why we struggle so much, why the bike is so aggressive and I have no feeling.
“That's what p***** me off, to see others doing these times today in difficult conditions and we don't even come close."
Currently 11th in the overall standings heading to his home French MotoGP at Le Mans, Quartararo’s form marks the continuation of a decline felt part-way through the 2022 season.
Indeed, though it was a campaign Quartararo led for much of the year before being overhauled by eventual champion Pecco Bagnaia with two rounds remaining, he has achieved just three podiums in the last 18 races.
“I'm not having so much fun. The first year of MotoGP was the best, every time I got on the bike I knew I was the limit.
“From the following years, however, I have never seen major improvements. Even in 2021 when I won the World Championship I didn't have as much fun as in 2019.
"More motivation? No. Mine is always very high. But there is frustration, when you see that four years ago here I was running in 1'36"3 and today I did 1'37"5, how can you not be?"
Yamaha M1 has more speed... but MotoGP gap is same
Quartararo’s frustrations mirror those of 12 months ago when he hesitated on extending his deal with Yamaha over his dissatisfaction with the M1’s evolution, particularly in the wake of Ducati’s rise as MotoGP’s new superpower force.
Indeed, while the M1 - with its now unique in-line four engine configuration - has often lacked the top end pace of its rivals, its superior nimbleness and stability in the corners acted as a balancing force versus the Ducati package.
It’s an advantage that had been eroded before Yamaha - on Quartararo’s insistence - began tweaking the engine to deliver more power.
However, while Quartararo says the bike is quicker in a straight line, it has impacted the M1’s cornering, particularly exit-grip, thus negating the advantages. He also says any step forward Yamaha has made has simply been matched by those around it, making any gains a net-zero.
"The engine has improved, although the gap is basically the same. But once we struggled to stay ahead, today we didn't. Ok, we lack power, and this requires us not to take advantage of the aerodynamics, but we have lost the cornering, the stability.
“We have added problems rather than solved them. In 2019 the wings were more or less the same, but the bike was more stable. But you try to look at the Ducati from four years ago and now, you don't recognise it.”
Looking towards the future, Quartararo is tied to Yamaha until the end of the 2024 MotoGP season but while he is refusing to look too far into the future, he admits his future with the team is entirely dependent on what it can bring to the table next season.
“Now I just want to think about this year, but the time will come. It will depend on the 2024 bike, if it will be like this year's I will certainly have to think of something different.”
CLICK HERE for the 2023 MotoGP World Championship standings ahead of the French MotoGP, Le Mans [Rd.5 of 20]
