YAMAHA BOSS SAYS QUARTARARO TIES HAVE COOLED AMID TEAM STRAIN

Yamaha team boss Massimo Meregalli says his relationship with Fabio Quartararo has cooled as the rider prepares to leave for Honda in 2027, but insists the team will continue supporting him through the end of the season.

Quartararo, the 2021 world champion, began the campaign with his future already decided. His frustration has grown as Yamaha struggles to move forward with its V4 bike. Tensions came to a head after the Austrian Grand Prix, when Yamaha would not allow him to test Pirelli tyres. At Aragon, Quartararo said he would no longer contribute to development of Yamaha’s 2027 machine.

The dispute eased after the pair held talks following the Aragon round, and Quartararo subsequently rode development parts at the Red Bull Ring. Meregalli said the relationship was no longer as close as it had been, though the team remained focused on its work.

“Of course, it’s not like it was at the beginning. It’s normal,” Meregalli told Motorsport’s Italian edition. “We’re truly in a working environment, and we’re all professionals. We just keep working professionally.” He added that the atmosphere among the mechanics and engineers in the garage remained good, while acknowledging that relations with the riders had become “a little colder than before.”

Reflecting on the Aragon comments, Meregalli said Quartararo had come to understand their impact. “When riders are disappointed or frustrated, sometimes they say things they perhaps don’t mean, or perhaps they even mean them,” he said.

Yamaha’s 2027 line-up will look very different: Alex Rins and Jack Miller are leaving MotoGP, while Toprak Razgatlioglu is the only rider in the current group expected to remain. Despite Quartararo’s move to Honda, Meregalli said Yamaha would not reduce its support or withhold development parts.

“We’ll support him until the end of the season,” he said. “Whatever we have to give him, he’ll get.” He pointed to Jorge Lorenzo’s departure as a precedent, saying Yamaha continued developing Lorenzo’s bike through his final grand prix with the team. “That’s how a team works, in my opinion.”