Fabio Quartararo has said he was impressed by the change in Yamaha’s mentality for the 2024 MotoGP season, even if the results on track remained below his expectations.
As part of its drive to return to the front and challenge for victories again, the Japanese marque is slowly adopting an aggressive approach more akin to its European rivals.
Having been given extensive freedom in terms of testing as part of MotoGP’s concession system, Yamaha brought new parts to the track at great speed which were subsequently fitted to the bikes of Quartararo and Alex Rins.
This wouldn’t have been possible in the past, when Yamaha was set in its old ways of being more conservative with regards to upgrades.
It’s why Quartararo hailed the impact of the behind-the-scenes changes at Yamaha after a season in which the M1 was too slow to finish on the podium.
“Of course, I expected [the bike] to be a little bit faster,” he said. “But [in] the first part of the season, more than the improvement on the bike, [it] was the way we changed work that for me was really important - to change the mentality.
“Also, the concession helped. When one engine was working [in testing], straight away the next race we had it. We did not have to wait for the bike [to undergo full] testing, to have the safety [standards checked]. If it is working, we put [it on the bike]. The first half was like this.
“And [in] the second half we managed to get a great step in a few areas, especially on the electronics.”
Quartararo showed his belief in Yamaha by signing a new contract this year, committing him until the end of 2026 despite it finishing next-to-bottom in the 2024 constructors' standings.
The Frenchman said he expects the new philosophy at Yamaha to remain in place, as it was one of the key demands he made before signing a new deal.
“At least ‘til I'm there it will be like this,” he added. “If not, I will not be able to follow. We just changed it this year.
“It will follow in the next years because we feel that we have made a small step forward.”
Quartararo was widely hailed for extracting the maximum pace out of the Yamaha this season and it was only due to a fuel issue that he failed to finish a grand prix inside the top five.
He also finished third on the road in the sprint race at Jerez, only for a tyre pressure penalty to take away his podium.
Quartararo’s team-mate Rins was new to the M1 in 2024 and also missed several races due to injuries, thus was not in the best shape to compliment the efforts of the 2021 world champion.
In 2025, however, Yamaha can count on its new satellite team Pramac and grand prix winners Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira, both of whom will ride for Pramac on factory contracts.
Quartararo feels small improvements, combined with the additional data from four bikes, should be enough to help Yamaha consistently challenge for the top five next season.
“Of course I have to compare [myself] with my team-mate because I have only one Yamaha in the standings,” he said.
“Next year it will be great to have three other Yamahas, factory riders also, to have more information, more data.
“This year was quite tough for us and we need mainly two things to find for - I don't say victory because for the victory we miss a lot - but to at least fight for top five we miss a few areas.
“I think that step by step we are achieving it.”
