The Yamaha rollercoaster was back in full swing at Mugello, and Fabio Quartararo was right at the heart of it. After an impressive qualifying performance that saw him start both the sprint and main race from fourth on the grid—despite a crash on Friday—it all came undone once racing began.
Quartararo came away with zero points in the sprint and could only manage a 14th-place finish in Sunday’s main race. It was a brutal reminder of just how unpredictable Yamaha’s performance has been this season.
The culprit on Saturday was chattering, but when asked if Sunday’s issues were the same, Quartararo said, “Similar, but in different places. Plus, the race is longer, the tyres degrade more, and things just get worse.”
He explained how tough the race was physically, especially as grip levels dropped. “When the grip is super low, our bike becomes a disaster—especially in direction changes. It’s just really hard to ride.”
The hotter it gets, the more Yamaha seems to struggle. Quartararo admitted that Sunday’s conditions exposed the bike’s weaknesses even further. “Today the grip was terrible. We couldn’t post good lap times, and the overall feeling with the bike was just off.”
Even when Yamaha seems to make progress, it only seems to hold up under ideal conditions. “We sometimes look like we’ve taken a step forward, but in reality, we haven’t. When things get tricky, like today, we fall apart. Behind us were a rookie and two test riders—then it’s three Yamahas. That says a lot.”
Clearly frustrated, the 2021 world champion questioned Yamaha’s direction. “We need to ask ourselves some serious questions. When the track and conditions get tough, the gap between us and the others is massive.”
When asked about whether Yamaha’s performance has matched his expectations this season, Quartararo was candid. “I didn’t expect pole positions like the ones we got in Jerez, Le Mans, and Silverstone—that speed on one lap surprised me. But I also definitely didn’t expect to be this far off in the races.”
The real sting for Fabio is that Mugello is a track where he’s traditionally gone well. “I can’t understand why we’re struggling so much here. We thought we made a step forward, but after today it looks more like a step backward.”
For Quartararo and Yamaha, the highs are fleeting, and the lows keep piling up. And unless something changes soon, the former champion may be in for a long, frustrating season.
