It is no secret that Yamaha have been struggling in recent years, to the point that they are now clearly the weakest manufacturer in the MotoGP championship, however they always had the silver lining of their prodigious talent Fabio Quartararo to pull a few results out of the bag.

Now, it seems that Quartaro is set to join Honda at the end of the year in a big money deal which will shake up the entire MotoGP paddock. The consequences of the decision are already being felt.

As we approach the critical Jerez test in just a few weeks time, teams will have the best chance of the year to try out new parts, but Quartararo has insisted that he will not take part in further development tests for Yamaha.

It is understandable that both parties would want things this way. For Fabio, any contribution towards the development of Yamaha's 2027 project would be of no benefit to him, while for Yamaha it makes sense not to let Fabio take all their secrets and experiments to Honda.

As a result, it could be a sad and disruptive end to what has ultimately been a successful relationship over the years. While it might not be everything he wanted or deserves due to his talent, Quartararo did win the 2021 World Championship with Yamaha, and that will remain in the history books forever.

The Japanese manufacturer could be in for a major overhaul at the end of the year as it is rumoured that title sponsor Monster Energy could be on the way out as well.

Fortunately for Yamaha, it seems that they have a good selection of talent to choose from when it comes to replacing Quartararo. Both Jorge Martin and Fabio Di Giannantonio are believed to be the frontrunners, however there is also plenty of Moto2 talent to choose from as well.

Yamaha's Managing Director Paolo Pavesio has weighed in on the rumours that star rider Fabio Quartararo could be departing the team at the end of the season for Japanese rivals Honda. Read all about it here.