Was Fabio Quartararo right to extend his contract with Yamaha?

Facts : fabio quartararo was unable to preserve its crown following a relentless comeback by the Ducati-Francesco Bagnaia tandem. However, the Frenchman was not unworthy on the handlebars of a Yamaha which is no longer the benchmark of the field. “El Diablo” signed with the Japanese firm until 2024, but did he make the right choice?

YES, by Thomas Morsellino

The extension of Fabio Quartararo at Yamaha makes sense in the first place because the choices available to him were limited.

Suzuki, where he had a real chance of signing, decided to end his adventure in MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season. Going to KTM? These last two seasons, the Austrian motorcycle has not realized the hopes raised in 2020.

There was no question of welcoming him to Ducati and there was no place in the official Aprilia team, where Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales were extended. As for Honda, in recent years the RC213V has done more harm than good to the riders who inherited it. Pol Espargaro, Alex Marquez and even his brother Marc can attest to this.

“You know what you have, but you don’t know what you don’t have,” said the team manager of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team, Massimo Meregalli, last February. Understand: who can guarantee that Fabio Quartararo will be faster with another machine than with the M1? Ex-Yamaha rider, Jorge Lorenzo never had the performance with the Ducati and the Honda that he had on Iwata's bike. No more than Johann Zarco when he left the Japanese brand to join KTM.

Arriving in MotoGP in 2019, Fabio Quartararo has always been fast on the M1, which suits his riding style. Excellent first season in 2019, first victories in 2020, world champion title in 2021, place of vice-world champion in 2022 despite an obvious power deficit: the Yamaha is his bike.

The Niçois is also in a strong position among the Blues, because the Japanese manufacturer is dependent on the Habs, the only driver capable of winning with the M1 in recent years. He is therefore able to put forward his demands, obviously financial, but also technical when it comes to the development of the motorcycle.

He is the leader of the troops, the captain of the ship, and enjoys the full attention of his employers. A status that he would not necessarily have elsewhere, for example at Honda where Marc Marquez reigns supreme, and which can only benefit him.

NO, by Medhi Casaurang

Yamaha owes a debt of gratitude to Fabio Quartararo. It's not even a question of being a supporter of the in-tune brand or the tricolor biker to be convinced of this. The Frenchman, beaten in Valencia (Spain) last Sunday by the Ducati of Francesco Bagnaia, is the only representative of the Yamaha clan to appear in the final top 10 (2nd with 248 pts).

His teammate Franco Morbidelli, who had surprised the paddock in 2020 via a vice-champion rank, was transparent until waking up at the end of the season, but he is classified in an anonymous 19th place. This maddening gap in the championship reveals the predominance of rival machines at the forefront: five Ducatis in the top 10, two KTMs, an Aprilia, and a Suzuki.

Fabio Quartararo was beaten by a more efficient biker in the second half of the exercise, but also by a Ducati armada more frisky than the pale Yamahas. The Italian brand has been impressing its adversaries for years with ever more extravagant aerodynamic appendages, combined with an insane V4 engine that allows it to reach the highest top speeds in the field.

Conversely, the Yamahas have a less extreme philosophy. They were never the most powerful but had a habit of doing well thanks to a more successful engine-chassis combination than their competitors. This is no longer the case today, and the standardization of the technical regulations has caused a rapprochement between other teams (Aprilia, KTM in particular) which undermines the historical positive points of the Yam'.

In this bad dynamic, it would therefore be very tempting for Fabio Quartararo to go and see if the grass is greener in a neighboring stand. After all, Yamaha already brought him a serious disappointment in the 2021-22 off-season, when the title holder was told that the much-promised engine improvements would be postponed until later. “When I heard the news that there would be no changes (on the bike), honestly, my mind went down”, he admitted on Canal+.

“I spent the first races without having peace of mind. It's a pretty complicated season but I think I've gained a lot of experience as a person and a driver. » More mature, will Fabio Quartararo soon take the plunge of leaving the brand that gave him his chance in MotoGP? All the big names in the discipline, apart from Marc Marquez, have changed tunes during their careers, and the Frenchman is only 23 years old. Plenty of time to try another creamery.