Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Vinales says it “hurts” to let go of crew chief Esteban Garcia midway through the 2021 season.
The Race broke the news of Garcia being sidelined on Wednesday, with Yamaha confirming it the following day.
In a subsequent media appearance, Vinales made it clear that replacing Garcia with the long-serving former Valentino Rossi crew chief Silvano Galbusera was a Yamaha-initiated move and even one that was “very unexpected for me”.
However, he made it very clear that he understood Yamaha’s rationale and trusted the manufacturer to get the most out of him.
“Well, basically, from three or four races ago, I didn’t feel good, I didn’t feel at the maximum potential,” said Vinales, who won the season opener in Qatar but hasn’t come particularly close to another podium finisher since.
“So basically I was talking a lot with Yamaha, Yamaha decided to face this with another strategy, that was to change the crew chief, and I believe in Yamaha.”
Vinales had seemingly hand-picked Garcia, who he’d won the Moto3 title with in 2013, when he parted ways with his first crew chief at Yamaha, Ramon Forcada.
The Forcada split – today described by Vinales as a “totally different story” compared to this new switch – was at the time seen as Vinales’ decision, although he’d disputed such an interpretation. The veteran crew chief currently works with Franco Morbidelli at Petronas Yamaha.
Vinales admitted the Garcia split is complicated by his close personal relationship with his now-former crew chief.
“I spoke with Esteban about this, because first of all he’s my friend. [Before being a] crew chief, he’s my friend.
“We have a very good relationship. I went many times to his house, I know his wife, his daughter, I know very well, and for sure our relationship will continue, even if he’s not my crew chief.
“Because he’s more than just a crew chief. As I said, he’s one of my friends. And that change for me also hurts.
“But in the other hand I understand very well that we need to take out the maximum. We have our team-mate that is winning and we are doing top 10.
“And for sure sometimes we show very high potential and what Yamaha is trying to do is to bring me to that potential.”
When asked whether that potential was unachievable with Garcia, Vinales said he didn’t know, but reiterated that he trusted Yamaha – and that he was “grateful” for the team for trying to get the most out of him.
