Concerned ‘source’ close to Alex Rins reveals his true feelings amid Jack Miller to Yamaha rumours

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Alex Rins might have a contract to ride for Yamaha in the 2026 MotoGP season, yet the Spaniard’s ongoing lack of form has raised doubts about his place in their works team.

On paper at least, Yamaha only have a place to fill at Pramac for next term after signing two-time World Superbikes champion Toprak Razgatlioglu to join their satellite squad with a two-year deal. Rins and teammate Fabio Quartararo are both locked up at Yamaha through 2026.

But while Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira wait to learn if one of them, or neither, will partner with Razgatlioglu at Pramac in the 2026 MotoGP season, another door might open that sees Rins’ future called into question. The 29-year-old has 42 points to Quartararo’s 102 this year.

Miller also boasts 52 points after the first 12 rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season thanks to a solid start to his first year aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1. This year is Rins’ second in the works Yamaha crew, for whom the six-time MotoGP race winner has never finished higher than P8.

Alex Rins is not pretending like everything is fine amid Yamaha’s silence about Jack Miller replacing him

Rins took his best result as a Yamaha rider to date with P8 in the 2024 Malaysian Grand Prix. He may have scored points in each of the past 11 rounds in 2025, but Rins has only finished higher than P11 once with P10 in Germany. Miller sealed P5 in America back in round three.

So, rumours also emerged at the Sachsenring that Miller may replace Rins in Yamaha’s 2026 factory line-up to keep the Australian in the fold. The 30-year-old is the most at-risk Yamaha rider after they signed Razgatlioglu as he does not have a contract for 2026, unlike Oliveira.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Alex Rins from net worth to career stats

But Motorsport.com now reports that Yamaha have not sent Rins and his management ‘any signal’ that Miller might move up from Pramac to take the Spaniard’s seat. The Iwata squad are loath to break a rider’s contract early beyond situations like Maverick Vinales’ 2021 exit.

Rins and his camp are not pretending like everything is fine, however. A ‘source’ close to the Barcelona native also admits that there is ‘concern’ amongst his camp and that Rins also has a ‘real desire’ to take a step forward with his results coming out of the 2025 summer break.

Yamaha could terminate Alex Rins’ contract for the 2026 MotoGP season

Yamaha gave Rins a £1.8m a season contract through 2026 in August 2024 following his first half of a campaign aboard the M1 last year. But the Iwata natives have not seen a lot for their money since, and Neil Hodgson has suggested Rins is near ‘the end’ of his MotoGP career.  

Rins has never been the same rider since the Spaniard suffered a double fracture of the tibia and fibula during the Sprint Race at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix while racing with LCR Honda. He has even suffered several injuries since that have thwarted his adaptation to the YZR-M1.

So, Michael Laverty believes Yamaha have ‘got to’ look at replacing Rins with a young Moto2 talent following the suggestions that the Spaniard’s future may be in doubt, despite having a contract for 2026. Rins last won a race at the 2023 Americas GP with LCR before his injury.

Many figures in the MotoGP paddock believe Rins is the only rider who could now break out of their contracts after 2025 following Jorge Martin’s failed quest to leave Aprilia. There have also been suggestions that Enea Bastianini would happily leave KTM Tech3 after just a year.