Fabio Quartararo tells Yamaha what they ‘have to’ be ‘sacrificing’ for the MotoGP team to catch Ducati

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Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo heads into this week’s Grand Prix of Qatar without a win in 53 races and 28 on from his last podium amid Ducati’s dominance of MotoGP.

The 2021 champion last secured a spot on a rostrum at the 2023 Grand Prix of Indonesia for what also remains the most recent podium by any Yamaha rider. Quartararo also has to look all the way back to the 2022 Grand Prix of Germany for his and Yamaha’s last Grand Prix win.

Yamaha and Quartararo will likely need a miracle to end their waits for wins at this weekend’s Qatar GP. The 25-year-old was P15 plus 26.456s off the lead in Thailand to start the season, 14th plus 25.148s shy of the lead in Argentina and 10th plus 18.255s off the lead in America.

Ducati sealed a clean sweep through the first three rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season with Marc Marquez winning in Thailand and Argentina plus Francesco Bagnaia in America. Ducati bikes have even won 43 of the 53 Grands Prix since Yamaha’s last win, plus all of the last 20.

Fabio Quartararo urges Yamaha to consider ‘sacrificing’ the M1’s strong front end to improve the rear

Many factors play into the Japanese squad’s plight and Quartararo branded his Americas GP ‘pretty bad’ as ‘so many small things’ went wrong for the Frenchman in Austin. His P10 was the second-best result by a Yamaha rider with Pramac pilot Jack Miller 6.398s ahead for P5.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Fabio Quartararo from net worth to career stats

Quartararo now notes that Yamaha have already tried 20 different set-ups this season to try to improve the M1. But concerns remained after his result at COTA – after which Quartararo stated the ‘biggest’ thing Yamaha need is grip and is something he has now lacked for years.

But in order for Yamaha to improve the M1, Quartararo has admitted ahead of the Qatar GP that the Japanese crew must consider ‘sacrificing’ the bike’s strong front end to improve the rear. It is a necessary evil that Yamaha have to explore if they are to catch up to Ducati soon.

“We have a very good bike at the front but a very bad one at the rear,” Quartararo said, via Motorsport.com. “To raise the level and get closer to the Ducati, we have to improve the rear end – even if that means sacrificing the front end a little.”

Fabio Quartararo needs Yamaha to improve the responsiveness of the M1’s rear end

Quartararo feels the rear of Yamaha’s bike lacks responsiveness but the balance problems it creates also result in issues with acceleration. So, until Yamaha can improve the issues with their M1’s rear end, Quartararo will continue to struggle to catch and truly fight the Ducatis.

But Yamaha will be reluctant to sacrifice too much of their M1’s strong front end to improve the rear. Miller loves the turning ability of his Yamaha and would even favour the M1’s front end above all MotoGP bikes he has raced since 2015 – including his Ducatis from 2018-22.