Fabio Quartararo has raised fresh concerns about Yamaha’s competitiveness in MotoGP, admitting the team is still searching for solutions to ongoing problems with its redesigned M1 machine.
The French rider made the comments after a difficult weekend at the United States Grand Prix, where Yamaha endured one of its weakest performances in recent years. All four of its riders ended up at the bottom of the timesheets, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the Japanese manufacturer.
For Quartararo, the issue is not just about results but about direction. His remarks suggest that Yamaha has yet to find a clear path forward with a bike that was heavily revised ahead of the season.
The race at the Circuit of the Americas laid bare Yamaha’s lack of pace compared to its rivals. While other manufacturers continue to make steady progress, Yamaha appears unable to match their rate of development.
Toprak Razgatlioglu, racing for Pramac, was the only Yamaha rider to finish inside the points in 15th place. However, he finished more than 25 seconds behind race winner Marco Bezzecchi over the 20-lap contest.
Jack Miller crossed the line in 16th, while Quartararo finished just ahead of factory teammate Alex Rins. For a team that once consistently challenged for podiums, the result marked a significant downturn in performance.
At the center of Yamaha’s struggles is its V4-powered M1, a bike that underwent major changes during the winter. The expectation was that the overhaul would help close the gap to front-running teams, particularly Ducati.
Instead, the early part of the season has shown limited progress. Quartararo openly admitted that the team does not yet have clear answers on how to resolve the issues affecting the bike.
This uncertainty has made it difficult for riders to extract performance or build consistency from one race to the next.
Following the opening flyaway races, MotoGP enters an unexpected break due to the postponement of the Qatar Grand Prix. The championship will resume with the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez in late April, where teams will also have a one-day test session.
Despite this opportunity, Quartararo is not expecting immediate improvements. He indicated that the season is likely to be long and challenging, with progress taking time rather than arriving through quick fixes.
The break may at least give the team a chance to reset and approach the next phase of the season with a clearer mindset.
One of the most concerning aspects for Yamaha is how quickly its rivals are improving. While Yamaha has managed to gain around half a second in qualifying compared to last year, other teams have improved by an even greater margin.
This has effectively widened the performance gap. In 2025, Jack Miller finished fifth at the Americas Grand Prix as the top non-Ducati rider, showing that the Yamaha package was still competitive under certain conditions.
This year, however, the deficit has grown significantly, with the gap to the race winner increasing from around 12 seconds to more than 25 seconds.
Quartararo believes the upcoming races in Spain and France will provide a clearer picture of Yamaha’s situation. Circuits like Jerez and Le Mans should help the team better understand how far they are from the front.
He also suggested that focusing only on lap time improvements can be misleading, as overall performance must be judged relative to competitors who are also making gains.
The European rounds will therefore be crucial in determining whether Yamaha can begin to close the gap or remain stuck behind its rivals.
In Austin, Quartararo qualified as the top Yamaha rider in 16th position and spent much of the race holding onto the final points-paying spot.
However, a sudden drop in tyre performance late in the race caused him to lose positions, including being overtaken by Razgatlioglu in the closing laps.
With little to fight for in terms of results, Quartararo used the race to experiment with different approaches, hoping to gather useful data for future improvements.
Despite these efforts, he admitted that the changes did not produce meaningful results.
Few positives from the weekend
Although Yamaha showed some promise in the previous round in Brazil, any optimism quickly faded in Austin. Quartararo was clear in his assessment that there were few positives to take from the race.
He noted that the bike’s behavior changed significantly on Sunday, making it difficult to maintain consistency or confidence throughout the race.
For a rider known for his precision and adaptability, such unpredictability presents a major obstacle.
Yamaha now faces a critical phase in its MotoGP campaign. The combination of technical challenges, strong competition, and limited time for development has created a difficult environment for the team.
The upcoming test at Jerez will be an important opportunity to evaluate potential updates and gather feedback from riders. However, meaningful progress is likely to require sustained effort over several races.
As the season moves into its European leg, expectations for Yamaha remain cautious. While there is still time to improve, the early races have exposed significant weaknesses that cannot be resolved overnight.
For Quartararo, the priority is to remain patient and continue working with the team to find solutions. His experience and determination will be key as Yamaha attempts to navigate one of the most challenging periods in its recent MotoGP history.
The next few races should provide a clearer indication of whether the team can turn things around or if the struggles seen so far will continue to define its season.
