Factors that led to Fabio Quartararo staying at Yamaha explained
After much speculation about his future, 2021 MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo elected to remain at Yamaha after being offered a salary of 12m Euros annually.
Quartararo’s new deal is one that will see him stay at Yamaha until the end of 2026, after rumoured interest from Aprilia was not enough to stop the 2021 MotoGP champion from staying put.
While Yamaha’s struggles remain a concern, retaining their star rider will give the Iwata-based brand a chance to keep one of the best riders in MotoGP when they need it the most.
A process of elimination as Ducati and KTM have no room for Quartararo, Yamaha and Aprilia made the most sense given Honda’s ongoing woes.
Quartararo had always maintained the same stance which was to sort out his future as quickly as possible, but with a lot of top rides potentially available, exploring his options elsewhere was expected.
As surprised as anyone by the timing, Crash.net’s MotoGP editor Peter Mclaren explained the situation in detail on the latest episode of the Crash MotoGP podcast: “The Quartararo news came out of nowhere. I think people thought he would take a bit longer to decide especially as there weren't really the results it seemed to make him want to renew with Yamaha.
“But clearly, behind the scenes he had been negotiating with Yamaha and he obviously believes in the future of what they have planned.
“You sign on for what the bike is going to be like next year and credit to Yamaha, they have obviously got their man and convinced him that the bike will be better and that they’re getting things done.
“He’s signed on the dotted line and a nice pay packet wouldn’t have done any harm. Now he’s got it out of the way so he can take all of that contract talk and distraction out of the way and focus on the rest of the season which all riders like to do.
Quartararo staying at Yamaha has also ruled out another potential big move involving Jorge Martin leaving Ducati to replace the French rider.
Robert Jones added his take on the situation from Yamaha’s perspective, saying: “From Yamaha’s side especially, it’s a big coup to keep Quartararo because there were a lot of rumours surrounding him and where he could go.
“Aprilia had not come out of nowhere but they had risen to the point of maybe leading that race to sign him and Quartararo also spoke about his future at the last round where he left it open.
“He wanted to make a decision quickly but he wanted to make the right decision and sort of left the door open to leave Yamaha.
“But for them it’s a big statement to retain Quartararo because we know that the project hasn’t been where they are used to it being and where it needs to be.
“Yamaha have had a lot of success in MotoGP and a lot of recent success if we’re talking about the last two deceased in particular.
“For them, it’s big that Quartararo wants to stay in my opinion. To know that the project isn’t there right now but giving Yamaha the answer, yes, I think it will be very motivating for Yamaha.
Aprilia are reported to have offered Quartararo 4m Euros a season, but it was an offer that was blown out of the water by Yamaha.
Jordan Moreland believes this also played a role: “It took me by surprise if I’m being honest. I thought that; not just from Fabio’s words in pre-season testing and the opening few rounds, I was getting the vibe that it was towards the end.
“I didn’t think he was looking at the project and had any confidence, but it appears that they have signed a lot of engineers from Ducati and a lot of smart people.
“They’re saying to him that ‘this is our project for the future’ and he’s obviously looked at his contract and the money is a big aspect. It’s a lot of money and I do think that securing his own personal wealth is a great option to take.”
Since joining Yamaha as a rookie, Quartararo has gone from strength-to-strength, and as a result has become invaluable to the Japanese brand.
Beginning to be the face of Yamaha like Marc Marquez was to Honda for so many years, Peter Mclaren says the decision to stay could also be because he wasn’t in a rush to leave, as opposed to Marquez who moved on to Ducati prior to this season.
“I think the thing to remember here is that compared to Marc he is a lot younger,” began Mclaren. “He’s only 24. It’s a little bit of a surprise. It seems like he would be a bit older than that.
“He hasn’t got that urgency that Marc had. Marc was saying ‘I can’t afford to keep waiting. I can’t afford to be patient, I need the bike now’.
“Fabio can afford to wait a bit and in two years time if the changes haven’t paid off he will still be 26 years old.
“He will still be below his prime which is usually their late 20s when everything comes together. This is not by any means his last decision regarding a MotoGP team.
“He has a long future ahead and like you said, with the money side of things I’m sure it was a factor, as it is for all these guys even if it’s just a number that you mean to these guys.
“In this case it’s the factory saying this is how much we want you and believe in you and this is how much we want to keep you.
“All those things come into play. Only Fabio will know what he wanted and what he was negotiating with.
“We hear the rumours about Aprilia, but to be honest, a lot of the Aprilia stuff was almost a process of elimination by everybody all just looking in.
“Ducati have a load of riders, KTM have a load of riders and so that just left Aprilia. Aprilia is kind of the most similar bike to the Yamaha so we were all just putting two-and-two together and assuming that that would be his main alternative let’s say.
“It seems like there were obviously discussions because riders will discuss with everybody to see what is out there. How serious they were we don’t know.
“The number of four million would be a little bit more than what Aleix [Espargaro] and Maverick [Vinales] earn right now but Aprilia is not overflowing with money.
“They don’t have a massive title sponsor like Monster and all these factors have to be considered. Time will tell if he’s made the right choice.”
