At Yamaha, the future is in doubt. While the Iwata brand focuses all its energy on developing the new V4 engine, which is expected to mark a historic turning point, the current M1 is being abandoned. And the first to suffer is Fabio Quartararo.
Japanese engineers are making no secret of the fact that the 1 M2025 is in its final stages. Efforts are being focused almost exclusively on the V4 which is due to start in Misano, and all development on the current online block was shelved. Result: Quarterly, although capable of compensating with his talent, finds himself helpless in the face of Ducati et Aprilia on the long straights.
This transition strategy even worries voices from the paddock. Charles Pernat explains it bluntly on crash.net :
Carlo Pernat brutally recalls the Yamaha dilemma
« Yamaha is strugglingThey are now working on the V4 engine, leaving aside the development of the current engine which is now at the end of its life. And Quartararo has realized this: Unsurprisingly, he seems to have lost his motivation »
The observation is brutal: a world champion, supposed to be the spearhead of the brand, now rides a machine condemned by the race for the future.
The bet of the V4 is colossal. But by sacrificing the present to prepare for 2027, Yamaha endangers its only real current asset: fabio quartararo, frustrated at fighting for crumbs while he dreams of podiums and victories.
A huge risk for the Japanese factory: because if the V4 slow to convince, Yamaha could not only lose the technical battle… but also the support of its star driver.
