Fabio Quartararo offered a terse reaction to team boss Paolo Pavesio’s statements that Yamaha wants to race its new V4 in 2026, saying his own MotoGP future depends on the team making the right decision.
Quartararo has been a loyal Yamaha rider since his MotoGP career began in 2019, but his frustration with the current state of affairs has grown in recent weeks as expectations have been raised only to be dashed in the final reckoning.
Remarkable qualifying pace has seen him take four pole positions since April, but these have in general been twinned with dramatically disappointing races – including a technical failure that robbed him of a likely victory in the British Grand Prix.
“I don’t know what he thinks,” said Quartararo, after journalists referenced Pavesio’s V4 claims in Saturday afternoon’s media session with the rider. “I don’t think he’s too much into the technical side of things.
“But, in reality, they [Yamaha] know very well what they need to do to keep me. To be honest, I don't care whether it's the V4 or not, I just want a competitive bike for next year.”
It’s not the first time in recent weeks that Quartararo has issued Yamaha an ultimatum via the media. He said he “needs a winning project now” at the Dutch GP last month.
Asked if relationships were getting tense within the team, Quartararo replied in the affirmative despite scoring a welcome third place in the sprint race on Saturday.
“Sure, it's getting a little tense, because we're always expecting more and more things, improvements. We can see that we don't really have any,” he said.
“With the V4, we’re getting pretty good feedback, but the lap times are super slow. In reality, what matters to me are the lap times. The feeling with a bike can be good, but...”
Quartararo’s body language in Germany has betrayed his frustrations as much as his words. He beat his machine angrily at the end of Free Practice 2 on Saturday morning due to a technical issue. Then, in the Sunday warm-up, he again punished his M1 as he passed the chequered flag.
