{"id":3063,"date":"2026-09-30T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=3063"},"modified":"2026-09-30T13:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:31:11","slug":"yamaha-admits-quartararo-relationship-has-cooled-ahead-of-honda-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/motogp\/yamaha-admits-quartararo-relationship-has-cooled-ahead-of-honda-move\/","title":{"rendered":"Yamaha admits Quartararo relationship has cooled ahead of Honda move"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Meregalli says Yamaha\u2019s relationship with its riders has become less close.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Quartararo\u2019s frustration escalated after Yamaha excluded him from Pirelli testing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Yamaha intends to keep supplying developments until his departure for Honda.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli admits the relationship with Fabio Quartararo has cooled as their final season together approaches its conclusion. However, he says the Frenchman will continue receiving technical support until he leaves for Honda at the end of the 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/motogp\/\">MotoGP<\/a> campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The admission follows a public disagreement over development work and Yamaha\u2019s decision to exclude Quartararo from testing the Pirelli tyres that will enter the championship in 2027. Meregalli acknowledged that the atmosphere is different from the beginning of their partnership, while distinguishing relations with the riders from working conditions among the mechanics and engineers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPerhaps the relationship with the riders as a whole has become a little colder than before,\u201d Meregalli said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Italian nevertheless described the garage as a professional environment in which staff continue working together. His commitment is to maintain that approach through the remaining races, with Quartararo receiving the available developments despite his impending departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Quartararo and Yamaha fell out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The disagreement became public during the Arag\u00f3n Grand Prix weekend, when Quartararo expressed frustration with Yamaha\u2019s performance and his role in developing the motorcycle. An engine failure in the Sprint added to a difficult event for the 2021 world champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Quartararo said he no longer wanted to help develop Yamaha\u2019s bike for its future riders after being denied participation in the Pirelli test at the Red Bull Ring. The decision left him unhappy about continuing to evaluate parts during race weekends while being excluded from work involving the following season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yamaha\u2019s management responded publicly, with Meregalli urging him to follow Jack Miller\u2019s example in maintaining a positive approach. Both parties subsequently held talks, and Quartararo addressed the outcome before the San Marino Grand Prix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe got a meeting together, everything was sorted out, and everything is pretty normal,\u201d Quartararo said at Misano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That meeting did not reverse Yamaha\u2019s decision on Pirelli testing. Quartararo also explained that resolving the disagreement did not remove his competitive frustration: he still wanted to fight for better results and found the motorcycle\u2019s limitations difficult to accept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Yamaha promises support through the final race<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meregalli\u2019s latest comments acknowledge that settling the dispute did not restore the relationship to its earlier warmth. Nevertheless, he insists that an approaching separation should not determine the level of technical support supplied to a rider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He cited Yamaha\u2019s previous experience with Jorge Lorenzo as an example of continuing development until the final grand prix before a departure. Quartararo should receive the same treatment, with the team continuing to provide what he needs for the remaining races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s how a team works, in my opinion,\u201d Meregalli said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The situation comes during Yamaha\u2019s first season racing its V4 motorcycle and ahead of another major technical transition in 2027. Quartararo will complete the current campaign with the manufacturer before joining Honda for the new 850cc era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Honda move also brings changes away from the track<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Quartararo\u2019s next chapter involves more than changing motorcycles. Honda\u2019s reported agreement with Red Bull is also expected to require him to end his personal association with rival energy drink brand Monster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before that transition, Quartararo returns to action with Yamaha at Motegi. The Japanese Grand Prix takes place from October 2\u20134, followed by the Indonesian round at Mandalika the next weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MotoGP today: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What time does the Japanese MotoGP race start?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The race starts on <strong>Sunday, 4 October, at 14:00 JST<\/strong>: <strong>06:00 BST in the UK, 01:00 EDT in eastern US and Canada, 10:30 IST in India and 16:00 AEDT in Sydney and Melbourne<\/strong>. In Los Angeles and Vancouver, it begins at <strong>22:00 PDT on Saturday, 3 October<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can Marc M\u00e1rquez take the MotoGP championship lead in Japan?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Yes. M\u00e1rquez trails Jorge Mart\u00edn by seven points after winning Saturday\u2019s Sprint.<\/strong> If M\u00e1rquez wins Sunday\u2019s race and Mart\u00edn finishes third or lower, M\u00e1rquez takes the lead. Second place for M\u00e1rquez and fourth for Mart\u00edn would also be enough: they would draw level on points, with M\u00e1rquez ahead on the Grand Prix victory tiebreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why has Michelin withdrawn the soft rear tyre at Motegi?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Michelin withdrew the soft rear tyre after problems during Saturday\u2019s Sprint<\/strong>, including those affecting Jorge Mart\u00edn and Francesco Bagnaia. The medium and hard options remain available, but Michelin recommends the hard and has warned that the medium still carries risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is Fabio Quartararo leaving Yamaha?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. Quartararo will leave Yamaha at the end of 2026 and join Honda for the 2027 and 2028 MotoGP seasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Massimo Meregalli acknowledges a colder relationship with Yamaha\u2019s departing riders, but promises Quartararo continued technical support until the end of 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1001097115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Fabio Quartararo","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Yamaha","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":36,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[38],"tags":[34,35,660,156],"42wp_author":[36],"class_list":["post-3063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motogp","tag-fabio-quartararo","tag-honda","tag-massimo-meregalli","tag-yamaha","42wp_author-juliana-tesser"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3063"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3064,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3063\/revisions\/3064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1001097115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3063"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=3063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}