The eight-figure pay cut Fabio Quartararo was facing if he left Yamaha for Ducati satellite team

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Fabio Quartararo is looking to return to the front of the field in MotoGP after a difficult few seasons with Yamaha.

The Frenchman has spent his entire career in the premier class with the Japanese manufacturer since 2019. He joined the factory team in 2021, winning the title that season.

Quartararo failed to defend his title against Francesco Bagnaia in 2022, losing to the Ducati rider by 17 points. Since then, Yamaha have had a dramatic decline.

The 25-year-old has not won a race since the 2022 German GP. Quartararo recorded the lowest points tally and finish of his career in 2024 with 13th in the standings.

The Frenchman has grown frustrated with the performance of his machine over the last few years. Quartararo even demanded a ‘number one sticker’ to be removed as he no longer wanted to live in the past.

Despite interest from other manufacturers, the 2021 champion opted to stay with Yamaha for 2025 – and there may be a good reason for that.

Fabio Quartararo would have had to take £6.2m pay cut to join Gresini

Quartararo rejected Aprilia in favour of Yamaha, stressing that technical director Max Bartolini gave him the ‘confidence’ back in the project.

Speaking on The Race MotoGP Podcast, journalist Simon Patterson discussed the prospect of Quartararo joining Ducati. The manufacturer proved the ones to beat in pre-season testing in Sepang, but satellite riders Franco Morbidelli and Alex Marquez were the pacesetters on day two and three respectively.

The idea of Quartararo being with Gresini on a Ducati would be ‘terrifying’ for the field and even the factory riders. But according to Patterson, the Frenchman would have been facing a 7.5 million euro (roughly £6.2m) pay cut if he left Yamaha.

“It took Marc Marquez a year to learn the bike”, he said. “It took him nine months to be able to win three races and I think Fabio is going to be able to win or fight for three races this season on the bike that he’s on without taking the probably 7.5 million euro pay cut that Gresini would have been.

“And that’s not an exaggeration number-wise”.

Is Fabio Quartararo a threat to Ducati in 2025 title fight?

While Ducati proved they had the best package at Sepang in testing, the biggest talking point was the progress made by Yamaha.

The Japanese manufacturer have invested heavily behind the scenes to improve their fortunes on track. Yamaha are developing two bikes at once in a ‘pretty crazy’ move as they look to improve the YZR-M1 while hoping to roll out their V4 machine by 2026.

Quartararo was consistently at the top of the timesheets in Sepang. Rival teams feel ‘really strongly’ about Yamaha’s progress as they see them mounting a challenge at the front this season.

Quartararo’s lap on day three was eight tenths quicker than Yamaha’s best-ever time in Malaysia, highlighting just how far the manufacturer have improved.

Davide Tardozzi now sees Quartararo as the biggest threat to Ducati after his performance at Sepang. Yamaha could have a package worthy of race wins, meaning the Frenchman could be a real thorn in his rivals’ side.