'We will stay on the faster package, doesn’t matter which.'

Yamaha announced that they would develop a V4 MotoGP engine, but this leaves the manufacturer with two different choices.

When Suzuki left MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season, Yamaha became the sole manufacturer using an inline-four engine. Whereas, the rest of the grid have stuck with their V4 engines.

Yamaha has not won a MotoGP race since the 2022 German Grand Prix. This makes it seem obvious that the Japanese manufacturer should switch to a V4 engine as soon as possible.

However, it has been pointed out by Yamaha's MotoGP Technical Director, Max Bartolini, that switching to a V4 engine is not as simple as just replacing the current inline-four engine with a shiny new V4.

“When you think about the V4 engine you have to think not only about the engine,” Bartolini explained when talking to MotoGP.com.

“Having a V4 engine means you have to build a completely different bike. So, different chassis, different weight distribution, different parts on the bike. But we have no idea if it’s faster or not at the moment. So, we have to build the engine, build the bike, check if it’s faster, and then decide.

“We have to decide in 2025, and I hope to have the information to decide in 2025.”

Whilst Yamaha is developing their V4 engine Bartolini is certain that Yamaha can make progress before their new engine arrives.

“Our target is to be as competitive as possible,” he said. “I have in mind to see something better at the end of next year and to be a little bit closer in 2026, that would be wonderful, the best option that I can imagine.

“But, you have to think that the others, they don’t stop working, they work very hard and they keep pushing very hard. So, you don’t just have to recover, you need to speed up more than them, so that makes the time long.”

The other complication for Yamaha in developing a V4 engine and deciding if it’s a path worth pursuing is the proximity of the 2027 rule change.

“2027 is getting here,” Bartolini said. “In any case, we cannot keep developing many parallel projects, it’s very time and effort-consuming.

“So, we should decide soon. We will stay on the faster package, doesn’t matter which.”