Fabio Quartararo: Yamaha is "completely lost", I want to "avoid getting hurt

Quartararo's blunt assessment that Yamaha is 'completely lost' overshadowed a difficult Mugello weekend as he qualified 18th and finished 14th in the sprint. The 2021 world champion was not even the fastest Yamaha rider, with teammate Alex Rins qualifying 12th and finishing 14th in the sprint, while Pramac's Jack Miller outqualified him on Saturday. A Friday practice crash left Quartararo frustrated, and he admitted that progress seen at Jerez has vanished in Italy. He said there were no opportunities and that the team has not regained the feel they had after the Jerez test.

Quartararo faulted Yamaha’s ongoing development pace, arguing that the factory has been unable to bring meaningful updates and that the bike has effectively stagnated for months. He blamed a combination of slow aero and engine decisions, noting that the team has to bring new parts rather than rely on setup fixes. 'My job is to give my maximum,' he said, adding that it is not his responsibility to drive the program forward. The weekend's results added pressure on Yamaha as it seeks to reverse a slide in a category that now demands rapid progress to stay competitive.