Fabio Quartararo: 2027 decision "helped me mentally" amid Yamaha struggles

Quartararo laments a lack of progress at Yamaha as he prepares to leave the Japanese brand after 2026

Fabio Quartararo says finalising his plans for the 2027 MotoGP season has “helped him mentally” amid his ongoing frustrations with Yamaha.

As reported by Motorsport.com, Quartararo has already agreed terms to join Honda for the start of MotoGP’s 850cc era in 2027, although the move is yet to be formally announced.

When confirmed, the deal will mark the end of his long association with Yamaha, which dates back to his premier class debut in 2019.

Although Quartararo won his maiden title with Yamaha in 2021, he has become increasingly disillusioned amid the Iwata brand’s competitive struggles in MotoGP.

Yamaha completely overhauled its M1 prototype over the winter and introduced a new V4 engine, but initial reaction in testing was overwhelmingly negative, with Quartararo conceding the new bike is seven-tenths slower than its predecessor over long runs.

Teased about Honda on the eve of this weekend’s Thailand season opener, Quartararo said: “I think it's a nice bike.”

Pressed further, the Frenchman confirmed that he has already made up his mind regarding 2027, although he stopped short of revealing his exact plans for next year.

“I cannot tell you much about my future,” he said. “I can tell you that my decision is clear; it also helped me mentally, but nothing more will come out of my mouth about my future.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Quartararo ended up 17th on the timesheets in last weekend’s Buriram test, one spot behind the top Yamaha of Jack Miller. The two Yamahas were more than a second off the outright pace, which was set by Marco Bezzecchi on the factory Aprilia.

Quartararo admitted that it was difficult to set any targets for this weekend due to Yamaha’s current situation in MotoGP.

“The real expectation is no expectation,” he said. “I don't think we are in a position to think about one result. I have no expectations; I am just trying to stay calm and [take] the maximum I can get.

Asked whether it was difficult to stay calm, he added: “Yes, because I know my potential. I know what I can do on one lap, in the races. But it's difficult because we are not in a position to be fast.

“In September, when we tried the [V4] bike in Barcelona, the feeling was not super good at this moment because the project was brand new.

“But the feeling is really, really similar compared to September. So, of course, we expect to make much bigger steps, but unfortunately, we are not. So, we are already starting much slower than last year.”

Quartararo lamented the lack of progress made since September’s Misano test, despite Yamaha making extensive changes to the V4-powered M1 in the ensuing period.

“Even in the tests, it's not that I needed to work in the way a test works,” he said. “Already by [early] laps, we know exactly what we need. You cannot imagine how many settings and how many things we tried between September and here, and the feeling was the same.

“So, I think it's more [up to] the engineers to find a new piece, something completely different, to find a way to have a base. Because we still don't have a base on our bike, at least for my riding style.

“We saw the race simulation was seven or eight tenths slower compared to last year's test. So, this is why I think we need to increase our improvements.”