Quartararo ended Monday’s running at the Qatar test just under six tenths off the best pace in 10th on his factory Yamaha.
Despite the 2024 M1 making good steps with engine power and top speed, Quartararo continued to complain about the bike’s lack of grip – having highlighted this as a continuing weakness at the Sepang test earlier this month.
The Frenchman noted after Monday’s testing in Qatar that he is still unable to find much lap time gain when he switches to new rubber, which he branded as “unacceptable”.
“The issue is the same as the past, and actually the grip,” he said.
“The grip is horrible. It’s the same: really aggressive on the bike. When we put in the new tyre, basically there’s no change.
“I make only two tenths difference with the medium with a new tyre or [one] with 11 laps [on it].
“This is something that is unacceptable. We have to find a way to burn the tyre for two laps but to improve the lap time, because we are really far.”
He added: “More or less the previous seasons was exactly this problem.
“And like sector three I don’t know where I can lose three tenths to Pecco [Bagnaia], who was using the medium tyre.
“Basically, on my riding style I know where the limit is and I was fully on the limit and I had no more.
“Hopefully we can find a way. From Sepang test we always made some big changes on the bike.
“With Max [Bartolini, technical director], who came from Ducati, we made some massive changes that in the past we used to change little by little.
“Now we change some big things. And now we can see the difference, negative, positive, but we need quite a lot of time to really find our potential.”
When asked if he expected to have the same grip issues as before in Qatar this week, Quartararo replied: “This is our main issue and our main goal to improve for the season, because always when I go in [to the pits, my team says] ‘the pace is not too bad’…
“Yes, I know the pace is always not too bad. But if you start P13, P14, P12, you cannot expect to be fighting for the podium. But to be in P6, P7, P8 is our goal right now.”
