2021 MotoGP World champion Fabio Quartararo dropped a piece of information that he almost left Yamaha before the end of the 2024 season. The French rider who entered MotoGP with Yamaha’s Petronas SRT team in 2019 and then moved to the factory team in 2021 has had it tough in recent times.
Fabio Quartararo’s early years with Yamaha, including winning the 2021 title, were marked by success. However, this was followed by a significant decline in the racer’s performance. A powerful 2022 campaign was followed by his poor performance in the 2023 season, which did not see him claiming any victory, and a third place in Jerez was taken away due to the tire pressure violation. However, Yamaha has not made it to the podium this season, which ought to be attributed to a problem of fading competitiveness.
In the 2025 rider market negotiations, the Fabio Quartararo pistol is ready to jump to Aprilia. Even though he was not so happy about Yamaha’s performance in the last few years, he decided to remain loyal to Yamaha.
According to Fabio the firm’s willingness to fund their project was the reason Yamaha was important in their decision to stay. The team has recruited new engineers, and made drastic changes such as the appointment of Max Bartolini, former technical director of Ducati. Yamaha’s measures use some concession advantages in carrying out in-season testing and using new parts.
Yamaha is intended to have ‘jumped ship’ with its 2025 season motorcycle designs; in a shift from its former inline-four engine concept, the firm aims to use V4 instead. These changes reveal Yamaha’s commitment to getting back into a competitive position in the market. Quartararo also accepted that Yamaha’s dropping standard affected him in many ways, and not only in terms of employment. Fabio said that
I’ve had problems with the bike and also mental problems, I think, he added.
The contrast between his past title-winning seasons and last year’s hardship made him question his abilities. He acknowledged the difficulty of adjusting to a bike that seemed to lag behind competitors who had made significant advancements. He said, “In the end, when you spend four years fighting for the title and one year you finish tenth, it’s strange.”
However, Fabio Quartararo has not given up hope of being competitive at least when the racing season begins. He has chosen to stay calm and contribute to the bike’s improvement. Yamaha continues to sort out its problems, and his backing of the team shows that he believes in their ability to recover.
Thus, Fabio Quartararo’s decision to stick with Yamaha at the time of the company’s turbulence and changes proves his commitment and the further developments to bring Yamaha back to the peaks of the MotoGP.
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