Yamaha’s reigning MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo says he will bide his time in deciding his post-2022 future, following a frustrating outing at Termas de Rio Hondo.
Quartararo, who qualified sixth for the Argentine race, was down to ninth at the start and then dropped to as low as 13th as he found himself swallowed up by a group of Ducatis.
Attrition and some overtaking allowed him to recover to eighth place, but this provided little consolation.
“The big issue is rear grip and top speed,” he said. “Top speed we know [about] but the rear grip is ridiculous.
“The first two laps, I was fighting against myself, because Turn 5 and 6 [a hairpin and a subsequent left-hand curve], the first laps, when you want to push hard, it’s just a matter of trying to pick up the bike and open the throttle.
“It’s an easy corner but when you see the guy pulling away in that kind of corner, that is [down to] pure grip, it’s really frustrating.
“The first five laps were a nightmare. And as soon as there was a little bit more Michelin rubber it was better – but to overtake with our bike is really difficult.
“I’m really frustrated about the first laps, because for me I didn’t make any big mistake and [others] were just cruising by.”
Quartararo had been a very competitive second in the preceding Sunday morning warm-up, extended to 40 minutes – which added to his frustration.
“Like always, before Moto2 [bikes put down Dunlop rubber], low temperatures, more grip… it’s working, but the race is never like that,” he said.
“You can have the pace whatever you have on Saturday or Sunday, as soon as the race comes you never know what to expect. And this is frustrating, because this morning with 24 laps [on the tyre] I made a 1m39.3s, with all race distance, and [in the race] to make 1m39s I was basically with a knife under my head.
“So, [it was] really frustrating because you never know what to expect.”
Quartararo’s current deal expires at the end of 2022 – and, having been vocal in his frustration at a perceived lack of progress from Yamaha and having signalled an openness to listen to any and all offers, he was asked whether he now had a deadline for making his decision.
“No, I have no deadline. I know that I can take my time. So, I think it’s great to take your time with this kind of decision,” said Quartararo, who would not be drawn on whether he had any offers.
He also sought to elaborate on his previous suggestion – amid his clear disillusionment with the current M1 package – that bike performance would be the determining factor for his next deal.
“I’m talking like that but it’s not really complaining, because at the end if you start complaining in the third race, you have still 18 to go, this is not the good mentality, at the end you try to be constructive,” he said.
“Of course today I’m frustrated but the good thing is it’s back-to-back races, let’s see how it’s going in COTA.
“When you make a great pace, you know you have the pace to fight for the podium and then happens what happens, it’s frustrating, because…to overtake is a nightmare, and then it’s never easy.
“But then focusing on the next one, I think it’s the best thing to think [about] right now.”
