Quartararo's brutal assessment of Yamaha: 'They have no idea how to fix the bike'

Yamaha's bike has not been up to the expected standard for several years now, and Quartararo has been the only rider in the team, factory or satellite, who has been able to show competitive potential.

Even this year, when the bike is perhaps at it's all-time worst, Quartararo managed an incredible P4 in qualifying for the Brazilian GP, and other riders even remarked that they felt sorry for him as they overtook, knowing that he was getting all he could from an inferior machine.

Now, Quartaro has issued a scathing verdict on the state of Yamaha's development, which follows reports that he will withdraw from any future testing sessions, which essentially confirms his departure from the team at the end of the season.

"I’m already expecting it to be a very long season," he told French outlet Canal+, "the team doesn’t really have any idea how to improve all the issues we’re having with the bike. [...] But I think mentally, we need to stay pretty calm. We have a little over a month off, so that’ll be good for completely disconnecting."

Not exactly an optimistic approach, but it gets worse if the implications of his other statement are to be believed. In a recent report by SpeedWeek, Quartararo's mentality has been called into question ahead of the next round at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, with some believing he may intentionally underperform in order to showcase the totality of the bike's issues:

"Yes, in qualifying we were half a second faster than last year, while the others were able to gain a full second." said Quartararo, "So it will also be good for the team to see that lap times on circuits like Jerez and Le Mans are significantly slower than last year. I think it will be good for the engineers to see that."

The comments certainly do not bode well for Yamaha's chances in Jerez, but full-blown sabotage might be a bit extreme. With that said, it wouldn't exactly be the first time Yamaha had dealt with a stroppy rider. Back in 2021 they suspended Maverick Vinales for intentionally trying to blow up the engine at the Austrian Grand Prix after the Spaniard became frustrated that the team had ignored his feedback and tampered with the engine - forcing him to start from pit lane and effectively ruining his chances in the race.

Either way, these are not comments that Yamaha bosses and engineers will like hearing. It is widely believed that Quartararo has already signed a backroom deal with Honda for 2027 onwards, though no official announcement has yet been confirmed.