Crutchlow on Vinales: "He is not Marc Marquez"

Speaking about the current rider market, Crutchlow admitted that the highly-sought Vinales was rapid, but reckoned the Suzuki rider is not as big a prospect as Marc Marquez, who the Brit had previously praised.

"Everyone as we know is eager to sign Maverick but he hasn't yet gotten a MotoGP podium - and that's the truth.

"I'll be his first supporter because I was one of the first guys to say, even before he came up, that he's gonna be fast in MotoGP and one of the guys to beat. But he is not Marc Marquez.

"Don't take that in the context of as though I'm really comparing them as people, I'm comparing them as riders."

Next best behind top four and Dovizioso

The Briton's second season with LCR Honda has seen a difficult start so far as he is yet to score a top-10 finish after the first four races.

However, Crutchlow is not concerned about his 2017 chances and says he will wait for other deals to be completed before starting to negotiate.

"There are other guys that need to move around me first before anything happens," he said.

"I'm not too worried, I think on the grid behind the front four guys and Dovizioso, podium-wise I'm the next best guy.

"It's close, I think my speed is still there. I'll start negotiating when the time is right."

Staying with Honda

While he admitted he wants to stay with Honda, Crutchlow said he needs to wait for Marquez's contract decision to see what options are there for him.

"I can't really comment on what's going on over there at the moment, until Marc signs a deal.

"There are a lot of things to play out before that happens. My desire is staying with Honda whether that means here [LCR Honda] or there [Repsol Honda].

"In the end, there are a lot other things going on before me and I'm happy to wait."

Additional reporting by Michael Duforest