At Yamaha, winter should be studious and the debriefing of the season heated. It must be said that the results at the end of the season, added to the penalty imposed for the hazardous management of an engine problem with regard to the regulations in force, pile up the harsh comments from its drivers. Among them, Maverick Viñales is the most virulent, the latter going so far as to doubt the manufacturers' abilities to raise the bar. An approach that his future teammate Fabio Quartararo does not share…
In 2021, they will be teammates within the factory team Yamaha . But already, they are responding directly or indirectly to each other on the state and level of the M1 which will have to present a new face next season, otherwise it will permanently damage the good reputation of the coat of arms...
Leaving the Portimao stage, Maverick Vinales It had been terse. Repeating over and over again the same problems encountered, the Spaniard ended his demonstration thus: “ winning is not possible with this bike and no one knows a solution to our problems. Now it's time to go home and stay calm. There are others who should worry ". And these are in Iwata.
fabio quartararo, for its part, is not as expeditious. He maintains his confidence in the staff Yamaha . In his speech after the end of Portuguese Grand Prix, he clarified, clearly taking the opposite view from his future teammate: “ for sure, there is a solution! Last year's bike was running great! Franco Morbidelli wasn't riding a 2019-only bike but he said it worked great. So there is a solution and they just need to find a way to make progress on the areas where we are struggling. ».
« I think looking at Franco's data it's very clear that we are suffering from a lack of rear grip, so we definitely need to work on that to analyze it. I think Yamaha is very motivated because they saw that the 2020 bike was a disaster for everyone in the last few races. So we don't need to tell them every time the bike isn't working: they see it! » insists the Frenchman, who thus points the finger at the communication strategy of Maverick Vinales.
Quartararo: “we also have to tell Yamaha that we believe in them”
On this hot topic, Quarterly concludes: “ they see it and they work hard, so they'll come up with something and hopefully we can start the test in a really good way, and there's also Cal Crutchlow. So I hope they are motivated and ready to solve the problem ". It will be recalled that the Englishman was hired as a test pilot, instead of Jorge Lorenzo...
Now, in view of the team's 2020 results Petronas compared to that of the official structure, marked by a clear score of six victories to one, is the factory team suitable to get out of the rut? Quarterly responds by emphasizing, here too, his confidence in the staff Yamaha : " I don't have much experience in MotoGP but I think I have a pretty clear idea of what to say to Yamaha, what we can improve. And I think we have to believe in that too :cIt's good to tell them that the bike is not very good and that they need to work, but we also have to tell them that we believe in them because they have made very good motorcycles in the past ».
A final sentence which again resembles a criticism of the positions taken by Maverick Vinales… The tricolor ends his remarks by illustrating it with a fact: “ For me the best example of this is last year's bike, as it was my first season. So I think we have to trust them, tell them our wishes, and I think it's important to believe in the project. So I think it will be beneficial to be a factory rider and I am very looking forward to being there and having meetings to express my ideas ».
On this level, we will remember that Valentino Rossi, who has rubbed shoulders with the Japanese for ages in MotoGP, had mentioned that they heard what he was telling them, but that they did not listen. An important nuance that could say a lot about the current situation under the tuning fork canopy...
