Pramac have failed to meet Fabio Quartararo’s expectations since partnering with Yamaha

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Fabio Quartararo has reflected on his motivation for signing a new deal at Yamaha last year. It’s a move he may privately regret.

Quartararo is guaranteed a top-nine finish in the championship after a season that has featured three podiums and five poles. But his win drought, which stretches back to Germany 2022, goes on.

Speaking to SPORT he admitted that he stayed partly for financial reasons. Quartararo earns £10m per year at Yamaha, one of the biggest contracts in MotoGP.

But he’d also received encouragement that the Iwata brand were on their way back to the top. Unfortunately, they’ve been the slowest team on the grid this year, and while their V4 engine is on its way, doubts persist over its competitiveness.

Fabio Quartararo says Pramac alliance hasn’t brought ‘many improvements’ to Yamaha

Quartararo also said that Yamaha’s commitment to adding a satellite team was an important factor behind his renewal. They spent two years only running their factory bikes after RNF defected to Aprilia.

A partnership with Pramac was particularly exciting. They helped Jorge Martin become the first independent rider to win a MotoGP title in 2024, and beat Ducati to the teams’ crown a year earlier.

“There were quite a few reasons [I stayed]”, said Quartararo. “For example, that Yamaha was going to have a satellite team, and that an engineer I had a lot of confidence in came to work for them. Also, the V4 project was important.

“And my ego, thinking, ‘We’ve won, we’ve been at rock bottom, and we want to get back on top.’ But I’m not going to deny that the financial aspect was there. People think it was only for that reason, and it’s not true, but it did contribute to my staying at Yamaha.”

However, in year one at least, Quartararo admits the presence of two extra bikes hasn’t delivered ‘many improvements’. Pramac are sitting bottom of the championship as the only team on the grid without a podium.

“We haven’t been able to draw many conclusions this year because we haven’t seen many improvements,” said Quartararo. “We’ve focused on preparing for 2026, and that’s why I think it’s important to see how the new bike performs.”

‘All I want’ is a bike good enough to win, Fabio Quartararo says

Some feel that Quartararo has already decided to leave Yamaha when his current deal expires at the end of next year. Next weekend’s Valencia test has been identified as a decisive moment as he trials the latest V4 prototype.

Quartararo doesn’t have a ‘set date’ in mind to choose his next destination. He knows he’s one of the most coveted riders on the market.

His goal until recently was to lead Yamaha back to the front of the grid. Now, though, his main concern is getting there himself.

“It’s been a somewhat difficult year, better than last year, but still complicated,” he said. “And I’m eager to see how the new 2026 prototype performs. We’ll make the decision based on that.

“I’ve thought a lot about wanting to win again with Yamaha, but right now the desire to win again outweighs that. 

“That’s all I want right now, to have a bike that I can win with again.”

KTM’s Pol Espargaro says Quartararo is one of MotoGP’s top three riders, along with Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta. He boasts 11 wins, 21 poles and 32 podiums.