Fabio Quartararo has called on Yamaha to make significant changes to the M1 if it is to stand a chance of defending its MotoGP World Championship title following Ducati’s dominant end to the 2021 season.
Yamaha reeled off its first MotoGP riders’ title since 2015 when Quartararo wrapped up the crown with two rounds to spare at Misano.
However, despite ending the year with five wins - more than any other rider - only one of these at Silverstone occurred after the mid-season summer break, with Ducati winning five of the latter nine races to beat Yamaha comfortably to the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles.
Following a difficult 2020 campaign, Ducati made a notable step forward with its refined Ducati GP21. It has scored impressive results around circuits not normally associated with being strong for the Italian bike, which is designed to prioritise top speed and acceleration, often at the behest of handling and turn-in.
However, Ducati appears to be striking a good balance between speed and handling, with Valencia a prime example after it romped home to a dominant 1-2-3 result around a venue considered better suited to the more agile, but less powerful Yamaha.
It’s a trend that makes Quartararo - who could only manage fifth in Valencia - worried for the future, not least because Ducati will dominate the grid in 2022 with eight bikes across four teams.
"Everyone said this track was not a Ducati track, but they did 1-2-3 in qualifying and the race," he said. "They made a massive step, so I'm more worried about next year, but this [isn't] something I have too much on my mind right now.
"I need to leave it to Yamaha. They know what they have to do to improve for next year. Of course we are not in full confidence because they make a step, but we are the world champions of this year. So we need to enjoy it."
"I'm giving my maximum always and I think you can see it. But today we arrived to the limit of the bike. To be honest it was tough to understand how much turning, drive and power they [Ducati] have.
"Because I was behind Jack and… I don’t know how many horsepower they have, but they have a lot. So at the end it's something that Yamaha needs to work on.
Fabio Quartararo ups rhetoric on lagging Yamaha MotoGP
After making pointed comments to Yamaha after the penultimate round in Portimao when a poor qualifying exposed the Yamaha’s struggles to get past Ducati’s due to a top speed deficiency, Quartararo upped the rhetoric in Valencia, demanding the manufacturer overhaul the M1 over the winter to deliver greater top speed.
"I repeat it a lot to Yamaha but I think they know what they have to do. So that's it."
"I'm not telling to somebody and Yamaha will hear from somebody. I'm telling straight to Yamaha. In Qatar I asked straight away for the holeshot device, they could do it quite fast.
"Now we ask for many things, with the 1-2-3 of what we really need to be competitive because right now we have a lot of strong points but also a lot of weak points.
"We need to make a step if we want to fight again - not fight again, fight a little bit more easy, because right now I feel even today we finished fifth I felt on the limit a lot.
"So let's see. I think we made a great race because I was feeling really bad, and when you are feeling really bad but you make a top five I think it’s a great performance."
