Marco Bezzecchi
Fabio Quartararo’s frustrated comments at Yamaha are unlikely to be well received at future employers Honda, Ricard Jove says.
It emerged during the off-season that Quartararo will leave Yamaha when his contract expires and join their Japanese rivals. The deal has yet to be confirmed, partly because the commercial agreement between the teams and the championship for 2027 and beyond is still under negotiation.
Quartararo has lost patience with the brand who gave him a world title in 2021. He hasn’t won a race since the summer of 2022, and the recent switch from an inline four engine to a V4 has only cemented their position at the bottom of the pecking order in the short term.
Ricard Jove urges Fabio Quartararo to ‘be more careful’ with the media
Publicly, Quartararo maintains that he hasn’t signed a contract with Honda even though the move is seen as a foregone conclusion.
Jove, a former MotoGP rider manager and talent scout, is ‘sure’ that the deal is done, but he fears Quartararo’s recent comments have ‘not gone down well’ with his current or future employers.
In an interview after the Spanish GP, where he finished 14th, Quartararo said he had lost his ‘love’ for riding and was no longer having ‘fun’.
What have you made of Fabio Quartararo’s attitude at Yamaha this season?
Are you sympathetic, or do you feel he's showing a lack of respect?
Previously, Quartararo claimed Yamaha had ‘no idea’ how to fix their bike. The team even cancelled their rider debriefs after the opening round in Thailand, fearing damage to their image.
Jorge Lorenzo has criticised Quartararo for being ‘overly negative’ and Jove, who was writing on his X account, agrees that he should ‘be more careful with what he says’.
He points out that rider contracts include clauses that penalise ‘unseemly behaviour’ from ‘ambassadors or employees’.
Fabio Quartararo signed a ‘letter of intent’ to join Aprilia
In a separate X post, Jove claimed that Quartararo signed a ‘letter of intent’ with Aprilia for 2027 before changing his mind.
It emerged at the end of last season that Massimo Rivola’s squad were interested in the Frenchman, but Quartararo’s salary demands were too high for Aprilia.
With Jorge Martin due to take Quartararo’s place at Yamaha, Aprilia have instead signed Francesco Bagnaia from Ducati. Marco Bezzecchi has penned a contract extension on the other side of the garage.
Quartararo has spent his entire premier-class career on Yamaha bikes, but his relationship with the team has slowly eroded.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
