Vinales: I'm torn between Suzuki and Yamaha
Suzuki rider Maverick Vinales admits he is struggling to decide between staying with his current team or joining Yamaha for next year.
Vinales, who is courted by Yamaha as a replacement for Ducati-bound reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo, confirmed he had two offers on the table, but insisted he has not yet made his choice.
"It is so difficult," Vinales said at Le Mans. "I have two teams that can be on the top - I have one team [Suzuki] that give me the trust from Moto2 and still now I can be [its] reference.
"Then I have another team [Yamaha] that is already there, winning. It's really difficult to make the decision.
"[I want to decide] as fast as I can, because all the time I'm thinking, thinking, thinking, I think it's not good for the riding.
"At the moment, I'm between. I know that every day I'm more convinced to go with one side, but still not enough.
"One day, I wake up, I take a piece of paper, start to write: 'Here I have this, this, this'. Then another day I wake up: 'Here, I have this, this, this'.
"All the days I try to make the pro and the negative from each side."
Current results not as important
While Yamaha's current status as the reigning MotoGP champion - and championship leader - currently puts it above Suzuki, Vinales insists that it's not current results that will shape his decision, but rather future potential.
"If I think easy, I check the list and see Yamaha first and second, But then I start to think and I start to think with my head what I feel, what I need, and that starts to change everything.
"I need to make my objective. I came here to MotoGP to win, not to be there. But Suzuki in one year make an incredible step. If we have a perfect weekend, we can fight for a podium - this also makes me think a lot. And I trust Davide [Brivio, Suzuki team boss]."
Vinales also said that, while his choice for 2017 was no doubt important, he believed it would not be final - and that he'd get to choose again if he proved himself in the future.
"At the end, if I chose one team or another, if I demonstrate I can be the best, I can have again the choice of both."
Additional reporting by Lena Buffa
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