Once again outside the top 10: According to former MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha had even bigger problems at Silverstone than Honda
Yamaha factory rider Fabio Quartararo had another disappointing weekend at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. In eleventh place, the Frenchman was at least the best-placed rider on a Japanese motorcycle, but the gap to the top is still alarmingly large
Quartararo was more than 24 seconds behind in Sunday’s Grand Prix. In the sprint, which he also finished in P11, the former champion was over 15 seconds behind. After the race weekend, Quartararo seemed disillusioned.
“It looks better than it feels,” he began in his media lap. “It was a bit better than on Saturday, but we are still missing quite a lot. We gave it our all and can be satisfied with our performance, even if it’s not enough. “
The big Yamaha breakthrough is yet to come
Silverstone has not been a bad track for the Yamaha M1 in the past. But historical comparisons are hardly meaningful anymore, as the balance of power in MotoGP has changed dramatically over the past five years
The fact is that Yamaha has not yet caught up with the European competition, even though there have been repeated positive signs in recent months. The big breakthrough is still a long way off
“We struggled more than the Hondas this weekend. We had even less grip than them,” said Quartararo with disillusionment. “I had no other choice, I had to push to the maximum. “
Fabio Quartararo sends clear signals to Yamaha
With his riding class, Quartararo compensated for some weaknesses and at least left KTM factory rider Jack Miller and Aprilia factory rider Maverick Vinales behind him. “Towards the end of the race I was able to fight with Maverick and Miller. Franco (Morbidelli) overtook me on the last lap,” he said, describing the final phase of his race.
“We know exactly what our weaknesses are. We have to work on that so that we can fight for better positions,” Quartararo clarifies, sending another clear signal to Yamaha.