How winding back the clock helped Fabio Quartararo salvage a good home GP

After a disastrous start to the MotoGP year, Fabio Quartararo was finally able to put a more positive spin on life at Yamaha after scoring his first significant points haul of the season at last weekend's French Grand Prix.

The home rider walked away from Le Mans with a respectable sixth place in the grand prix - significantly better than his previous 2026 best of 14th. This came after qualifying in fifth spot.

After a grim Friday in which Quartararo and Yamaha "went in the wrong direction", his weekend provided confirmation of the progress made in the Jerez test that followed the Spanish GP. Continuing to run the 2025 aero package he had turned to in that test, he said the feeling he found in Spain was still there on Saturday and Sunday.

Speaking after the sprint race, Quartararo reported: "For me, at the Jerez test, I had the same feeling as today. I was quite consistent, I made great lap times; the feeling was there."

He emphasised that the "feeling" did not automatically make the bike faster, but allowed him to push it harder and ride it better. He also felt it helped him manage key resources like tyres and brakes. He pointed to braking as a positive in the grand prix, in which he was also the top finisher on a soft tyre that was a marginal choice from a wear perspective.

"Yeah, you know, we had to be really smooth on the braking, but in the end that is where I can try to make the difference, on the braking. I didn't feel like that for a long time until today, even if we know the potential of our bike is still very low. 

"So, I could push myself 100% and I think that was quite nice, especially on the opening lap when everything is more close and it's more easy to make an overtake."

In a statement familiar from his trying 2025, Quartararo said he now wanted to leave the base set-up as it was and make the best of the M1 through riding adjustments.

"We always try to find performance with the settings, but... until we really have our better package, new items, we will not change the bike. So I think that right now, I just don't want to touch the bike. And when the team brings some item to test, we will test it and let's see if we have some more performance."

Despite an unusually positive take on things, Quartararo put matters in perspective when asked if he felt optimistic going forward. 

"No, I mean, optimistic, no. Because in the end this [personal improvement] is something that, you know... if it was more performance on the bike, [every Yamaha rider] would have used. But it's just a matter of feeling, for myself. I feel the bike a bit better. Let's see in the other layouts, but what I'm 100% sure of is that I can push."