Marco Bezzecchi
Augusto Fernandez hasn’t had the easiest of jobs in MotoGP throughout the 2025 season, as Yamaha attempt to develop their new V4 engine.
The Japanese manufacturer has faced a bit of a harsh reality, knowing that their latest project may be the last chance they have to convince Fabio Quartararo to stay with them.
Over the last few seasons, Yamaha’s performance has been disappointing. They haven’t won a single MotoGP race since back in 2022.
Rushing the V4 through is a bit of a last-chance saloon. If it fails, at least they tried. It has certainly proven to be a handful for test rider Augusto Fernandez.
Fernandez is privately ‘frustrated’ with the V4 and having to spend the majority of his race weekends as a wildcard rider at the back of the grid.
There’s a chance that Yamaha have already reached an ‘extreme’ limit with the V4, which could hold them back in the coming months. It will definitely be a concern.
READ MORE: Augusto Fernandez was ‘surprised’ by Toprak Razgatlioglu’s data after Yamaha MotoGP test
Augusto Fernandez must stop crashing Yamaha’s V4 despite low ‘confidence’
Just a few weeks ago, Fernandez mentioned Yamaha’s ‘only positive’ with the V4 being that they already know its weaknesses.
Where it doesn’t help is with time. There isn’t long left before that bike needs to be rolling out, ready to compete next season.
Every lap of data they can pile on, the better. But, Fernandez has a knack of crashing the new bike a lot recently, doing so once more on Friday at the Valencia Grand Prix. That has to change.
Yamaha can’t afford to lose any laps or have to waste time fixing damage. The reason is clear, though, after Fernandez mentioned a lack of front-end ‘confidence’.
“The problem is two things,” he told The Race. “Confidence in the front, that we are struggling with on this new bike. And without confidence on the front, the Michelin front tyre just crashes.
“And I think [it’s good] for them to understand that we have a problem at that point, because I wasn’t going at 1m30s, I was doing 1m31s, and I was on the floor. I think we understood well the weak point. The [new] chassis is slightly better on that point.”
READ MORE: What Fabio Quartararo was seen doing after Augusto Fernandez crashed Yamaha’s V4 bike at Sepang
What’s the most worrying part of Yamaha’s V4 performance?
Although the V4 may end up being an improvement for Yamaha, what’s clear is that fellow concessions team Honda has made more progress than they have.
While their test rider, Aleix Espargaro, was somewhat close to the front of the pack during practice on Friday, Fernandez was quite a bit further back.
So far, the new engine hasn’t contributed much that the current inline-four can’t bring. It’s exactly why Quartararo is still using it.
The post-season test will be vital for making further inroads, but the V4 leaves a lot to be desired with little time before 2026.
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