Jorge Martin's future with Aprilia was the big talking point before, during and after the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone - but there is another two-year MotoGP contract and cooperation that appears on somehow shakier ground.
The MotoGP standings do not immediately betray that there is something very wrong with how Enea Bastianini's time at KTM has started - he is fourth of four KTM riders but just three points back from Brad Binder.
But his tone in discussing his situation had long been one of alarm, and coming into Silverstone already a report in Sky Sport Italy suggested there was a real possibility that Bastianini and KTM would go their separate ways at the end of 2025 regardless of KTM's wider MotoGP future - and that the Italian could seek refuge somewhere like Pramac Yamaha.
Bastianini feels he's having to "reset" every time he's coming to a new track on the KTM RC16, which he has accepted as part of the learning process - but he's also been particularly limited in qualifying trim. One-lap pace has never been his true strength, but at KTM he's felt hindered by a lack of comfort on the bike.
It's something he seemingly believes needs tailor-made components, and Bastianini let slip at Silverstone - though seemingly walked it back a little later - that production of those was being delayed by KTM's financial problems.
But while his cadence when talking to the media never changed through the weekend (it never really does), some really blunt and brutal words came out after he finished a dreadful 38 seconds off the winner on Sunday.
"It was impossible for me to push," he lamented.
"Also on the straight was too difficult for me to keep the throttle, because the front was like [it was] lighter, was closing many times on the straight. "It has been very frustrating for me. Probably my worst race of my career, from my side. I thought many times of going to the box [pulling in to retire].
"But at the end I finished the race for everybody - for me and for the team. But to be honest, I'm not happy for nothing.
"Binder, who had a miserable weekend of his own, appeared to have similar issues, with the impression overall that the KTMs were not handling the Silverstone wind well.
But Binder was at least baseline competitive. Bastianini was relegated to fighting test riders and the recently injured.
British GP fastest laps, KTM
Pedro Acosta, 2m00.453s
Brad Binder, 2m00.694s (+0.241s)
Maverick Vinales, 2m00.718s (+0.265ss)
Enea Bastianini, 2m01.898s (+1.445s)
The year before, on the works Ducati, Bastianini did the sprint-and-GP sweep at Silverstone. This wasn't going to happen in 2025, and the circumstances of the weekend also did get away from his strengths (as the race seemingly became more about the front tyre than the rear) - and his start device was stuck early, and he had to serve a long-lap penalty carried over from Le Mans.
"Nothing worked," he summed up - but the laptimes were much worse than simply a bad day at the office.
"Probably if today I was with a bike from when I [first] arrived [to KTM], it would've better," he suggested - hinting no progress has been made.
"At the end the bike didn't turn, and the electronics didn't work. This is the problem, no?
"We braked hard but like today, with that strong wind, it's not a strongest point. Also in this track it's not the strongest point.
"In Le Mans was good, this one [the bike], no? Because we had many stop-and-go [corners]. And we were more competitive.
"But here no. It's just the only one strongest point at the moment of the bike.
"That's a sharp thing to say, but Bastianini was also clearly keenly aware that he was nowhere near what Pedro Acosta had been delivering as KTM's benchmark at Silverstone.
"I want to receive all the approach from the KTM because at the moment I'm the worst rider on the track. And nothing.
"Here during last year I won two times. It's impossible to be the last one this year.
"I think KTM has to commit to doing something for me, for my future, because like this it's impossible to continue, no?"
