Fabio Quartararo says he is prepared to put his all in to retain his MotoGP World Championship title in 2022 despite disappointment his call to Yamaha to give him a bike with more power went unanswered.
The Frenchman won his maiden MotoGP title - and Yamaha’s first since 2015 - last year relatively comfortably on the strength of greater consistency than his closest rival Pecco Bagnaia, particularly in qualifying.
However, Ducati appeared to have the more potent package towards the end of the season, prompting Quartararo to urge Yamaha to develop a more powerful M1 over the winter to repel the perceived threat of rivals that are now easily out-dragging it in a straight line.
Nevertheless, Yamaha has maintained its philosophy to evolve the chassis instead, an approach which shifts the emphasis onto Quartararo to maintain his single lap superiority in qualifying or risk getting caught up in the pack if he doesn’t.
After ending the second MotoGP pre-season test in Indonesia with the second quickest time behind Honda’s Pol Espargaro, Quartararo admits he is resigned to the fact he will need to work with what he has because he didn’t get the improvements he petitioned for.
“I can do nothing more, from my side I put 100% every time I go on track,” he said. “What we have is what we have, we have a top speed I expected to be much better for 2022 but it’s exactly the same. I always say the same, I won’t say it anymore, in the ended we know what we have from the engine and the horsepower but 100% from my side will always be there.”
Quartararo’s rather muted response to the Yamaha development is likely to sharpen the spotlight on talks regarding his deal for the 2023 MotoGP season amid talk Honda and Ducati could make a swoop for him.
Nevertheless, Yamaha boss Massimo Meregalli believes the manufacturer is following the right development path and is confident Quartararo will stay.
“Fabio is our first priority, we are in contact almost daily with his management and we are proceeding with our programme. We will find a way to find an agreement as soon as possible, it’s normal that he gets proposals, but we are confident we can secure him for two or more years.
“Until he signs, the door is open. He will put the proposals on the table and choose which is the best. We don’t know what he has, which is normal, but I don’t see him thinking about leaving us; he is focused and concentrating.
“Our philosophy is to maximise our package as much as possible. We will work well, the championship is long and the consistency we saw last year will keep us in good confidence.”
