Marco Bezzecchi
Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo is working on finalising a move to Honda for the 2027 MotoGP season after a possible move to Aprilia collapsed due to his salary demands.
Quartararo is out of contract for Yamaha at the end of the 2026 season, and he is no longer believed to see a future at the Japanese squad. The 26-year-old has raced for Yamaha since 2021 and has ridden their bike since 2019, but he has lost patience after years of struggling.
The Frenchman, who won the 2021 MotoGP title for Yamaha after replacing Valentino Rossi in their factory team, has not won a Grand Prix since 2022 in Germany. He has also only had six podium results across the 72 races since his win in Germany, including one in the last 47.
Also, Quartararo is not confident about Yamaha’s new V4 engine that they are set to race in the 2026 season after moving away from an inline four in search of stronger results. So, it is said that Quartararo has agreed to leave Yamaha for Honda in 2027 on a two-year contract.
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Fabio Quartararo is negotiating with Honda after Aprilia rejected his salary request
Honda and Quartararo are now working on finalising the final details of his contract to lead Yamaha’s Japanese rivals into the 2027 MotoGP regulations era. But AUTOhebdo also notes that Honda are essentially Quartararo’s best real option after a move to Aprilia fell through.
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Quartararo’s choice of factory MotoGP teams for 2027 are really Yamaha, Honda and KTM, as Ducati look set to sign Pedro Acosta to partner with Marc Marquez. Aprilia were also an option initially, but the wage Quartararo wanted to move to Noale is beyond their budget.
So, Quartararo made a move to Honda for 2027 his priority, as the Nice native believes the Tokyo squad are more likely to adapt well to the 850cc regulations than KTM. The chances that Honda will understand the new aero restrictions better than KTM was a major aspect.
Fabio Quartararo asked Aprilia for a £4.5m a year contract to join in 2027
Signing Quartararo would hand Honda the big-name rider they have craved since Marquez left the team at the end of the 2024 season to join Gresini. Honda replaced Marquez with Luca Marini, who they awarded a new one-year contract to stay for 2026 next to Joan Mir.
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Honda could even field an all-new rider line-up featuring Quartararo in 2027, as Mir is also set to be out of contract at the end of the 2026 season, like Marini. Honda intend to afford Mir and Marini time to earn contracts for 2027 before they decide Quartararo’s teammate.
How Quartararo felt about a move to Honda for the 2027 season if Aprilia had agreed to his demands would be up for debate, though. Carlo Pernat understands that Quartararo visited the Aprilia factory to offer himself to the team for 2027, but he sought to earn £4.5m a year.
It is now understood that Quartararo’s salary request was too rich for Aprilia’s liking, despite it marking a considerable reduction compared to his salary with Yamaha at present. Yamaha currently pay Quartararo £10m a year, as one of the highest-paid riders on the MotoGP grid.
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