Fabio Quartararo laments ‘no clear direction’ with 2026 Yamaha MotoGP bike

Fabio Quartararo says he doesn’t think “there is a clear direction yet” with how Yamaha’s 2026 MotoGP bike will develop, following a tough Friday at the Thai Grand Prix.

Yamaha’s new V4 project has not hit the ground running in 2026, following serious technical issues at the Sepang test and a general lack of speed from the bike.

Fabio Quartararo ended Friday at the Thai Grand Prix as the fastest Yamaha, but was 16th and 1.358s off the pace.

“We are still far off because we know how difficult it is to be two tenths fastest, especially after two days of testing [at the same track],” he said on Friday.

“Obviously, we are still very far away, but at least I gave it my all.”

Quartararo, at this time, doesn’t believe Yamaha has a clear direction on how the V4 M1 will develop and has warned that a new engine may not be ready until May’s French Grand Prix.

“I don’t think there is a clear direction yet,” he added.

“We’re trying to find it, but at least I’m trying to work and do my best with the team.

“I don’t know when it will arrive, but I think that at least until Le Mans we won’t have any [new] engine. I think, I’m not 100% sure, that for Brazil, the United States and Qatar, there won’t be one.”

Quartararo: I was a bit too optimistic about the bike

The 2021 world champion has endured a frustrating winter on the V4 M1, with Quartararo giving the bike the middle finger on day one of the Buriram test.

He now accepts that he was “too optimistic” about the potential of the bike coming into this year and is now trying to approach the season with more calm.

“I’ve talked to my team members, the engineers, and I think I was a bit too optimistic about the bike’s potential,” he explained.

“I know what the potential is, and I don’t want to go crazy or make mistakes.

“Especially for my image, which I think is the most important thing. I’m trying to take everything more calmly.”

Quartararo’s best lap in Practice on Friday at Buriram proved to be around 0.4s slower than what he achieved in the same session last year on the inline-four M1.

He will face a tough Q1 group on Saturday morning that features Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia and Honda’s Luca Marini.