Fabio Quartararo’s damning verdict: ‘New Yamaha M1 doesn’t have a single strong point’

March 19, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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Fabio Quartararo believes MotoGP’s return to Brazil after two decades will do little to boost Yamaha’s prospects, insisting the new V4-powered M1 ‘doesn’t have a single strong point’.

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Yamaha’s radical revamp of its MotoGP challenger over the winter has yet to pay dividends, leaving the Iwata-based manufacturer well adrift of its rivals.

While both Quartararo and team-mate Alex Rins were able to finish inside the points at the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix, their result was largely owed to several frontrunners retiring late in the race due to tyre issues or crashes.

Following the Buriram weekend, Yamaha joined Honda and KTM for a private test at Jerez, where it was able to logged further mileage on the M1 and made early preparations with Pirelli tyres for 2027.

However, its star rider Quartararo doesn’t feel the Japanese manufacturer has made any meaningful progress since then, as he underlined the scale of work required to turn M1 into a competitive package.

“[The feedback from all Yamaha riders] is the same. There is not one point where we feel strong,” he said at Goiania.

“We are trying to understand. The engineers are trying to understand where we can at least make modifications to feel better, but in general it's the same feeling for everyone.”

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Asked whether an unfamiliar circuit Brazil could level the playing field and help Yamaha close the gap to the front, he added: “No. It's a short answer because it's the reality. Any track will be difficult for us.

“Yamaha had tests in Jerez [but] nothing [new] was really tested, so I don't think it's going to be better with a bit more knowledge compared to Thailand.”

While Yamaha finished at the bottom of the standings last year, Quartararo was still able to
extract the maximum out of the bike in qualifying to score four pole positions.

However, the shift to the V4 engine and other related changes on the bike appear to have had a detrimental impact on one-lap performance.

Quartararo said engine power and the front-end feel remain the biggest weak points of the new-for-2026 M1.

"Honestly, there are so many things we're looking for… turning, having a bit more feel on the front,” he said. “That's what made me make a bit of a difference in qualifying [before 2026], being able to really push to the limit, but right now we have no idea where the front end is.

“As for the engine, we know we can't do anything about it for the moment."

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