Yamaha have nailed exactly why Jack Miller struggled so much during the 2025 MotoGP season

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Yamaha will be the only team in Tier D of MotoGP’s concessions next season as they attempt to rebuild their programme.

A big part of that will be the V4 engine, which was introduced towards the end of 2025 in a bid to help them catch up with their rivals.

Yamaha hope that it will improve rideability, traction, and the overall speed of their bike. Unfortunately, Fabio Quartararo hasn’t been too complimentary of it so far.

But his colleague, Jack Miller, has been encouraged at times. The new engine has a long way to go, but a lot of work is being done behind the scenes to bring it up to speed as soon as possible.

Miller needs a ‘reset’ for 2026 after going through a bit of a rough patch in form over the last 12 months. He learned a lot, and now he needs to apply it on track.

After assessing the situation, Miller ‘dramatically’ changed Yamaha’s plan and now believes that they’re taking a much better direction. It’s exactly what his fans will love to hear.

READ MORE: Jack Miller once revealed how close he was to leaving MotoGP after annoying Yamaha with his comments

Paolo Pavesio is right to say Jack Miller’s lack of a ‘reference’ contributed to his struggles

Speaking about Yamaha’s difficult 2025 campaign, Paolo Pavesio mentioned how Miller wasn’t helped by not having much of a reference from a teammate to go by. Looking back, he’s right, and it could be a big reason to expect more from him in 2026.

“From a pure racing point of view, I feel very sorry for Miguel Oliveira, how unfortunate this season went for him,” he told SPEEDWEEK. “He couldn’t show his speed and couldn’t help us with the quality of his feedback because he missed many races due to his injury.

“Jack Miller, on the other hand, was always fast. But if a driver is the only one on the team who is fast, then he lacks the reference. It was interesting for us to see where, how, when and why he was fast.

“Fabio Quartararo was always very open to Jack. My assessment is positive. Many approaches in our project are already visible, and more will follow.”

Although Miller might have been ‘screwed’ in 2025, he will be starting from a much-improved baseline in 2026.

Having Toprak Razgatlioglu, a premier talent, alongside him will help too. There are plenty of reasons to expect a lot more from him on track.

READ MORE: Jack Miller shares how Yamaha’s V4 engine reminds him of his time at Ducati

What does Jack Miller need to do to save his MotoGP seat for 2027?

Miller’s V4 experience could extend his career beyond 2026, depending on how well his feedback is received at Yamaha.

He has to make a meaningful contribution to the project for it to be worth keeping him around. That means bringing success on and off the track.

No doubt Miller’s main aim will be getting his bike to a level where he can compete for top 10 finishes at every race, which just wasn’t possible this year.

And getting across the line in those positions, rather than retiring or dropping back at the end of races, will be crucial for his future.

It would be hard for Yamaha or Pramac to justify dropping him, particularly if he strings some strong results together on track.