Fabio Quartararo’s frustrations boiled over at Assen as Yamaha’s MotoGP campaign fell into a technical abyss, with the former world champion describing his bike as completely lacking in grip, agility and horsepower. For a team with Yamaha’s pedigree, this is nothing short of a crisis.
At the Cathedral of Speed on Friday, Quartararo managed to squeeze his underperforming Yamaha to within a second of Marco Bezzecchi’s benchmark lap during free practice. That modest margin might have looked respectable on paper, but the devil was in the details: Quartararo’s 15th-place finish deprived him of a vital top-10 slot and a direct ticket to Qualifying 2. His body language told the story – visible exasperation, desperate gestures, and, finally, a stinging public assessment of Yamaha’s woes. “As you can imagine, difficult,” Quartararo admitted, his voice flat, his eyes indicating deep fatigue. “Right now I think the target is to fight for points and try to maximize what we have.”
For Yamaha, it is a far cry from their former glory. Just a few years ago, these were the yardstick by which everyone else measured progress. Now, the famous Japanese marque is stuck in mediocrity, and is struggling to even keep pace with the frontrunners, let alone challenge for the podium. Quartararo, once the golden boy of the barn, is now reduced to fighting for scraps, his immense talent chained to a machine ill-suited for the job. The stakes are huge: each weak performance damages the team’s reputation, creates doubt inside the garage, and raises uncomfortable questions about Yamaha’s future in MotoGP’s elite.
When pressed about whether Yamaha has made any progress in improving the M1’s notorious lack of cornering ability through Assen’s fast, sweeping corners, Quartararo minced no words. “No, we are not going to make progress there,” he declared. “I mean, we need to make progress everywhere because we have zero grip, zero turn, zero power. But I’m especially trying to maximize straightaway braking, that’s the only point where I can still brake hard, but I’m not able to twist and open up the throttle.” “So, as I said, the goal will be to try to get points on Sunday,” he said with a sense of resignation.
The French’s lamentations did not end here. A new and troubling factor has emerged – weight. Quartararo revealed that the 2026 Yamaha is heavier than ever, exacerbating all the other shortcomings. “We have a lot more weight in terms of bikes compared to last year,” he said. “Well, last year was also heavier than others, but especially this bike is really very heavy. Physically, OK, it’s as hard as last year, but of course when you weigh so much, it’s heavier, it’s more difficult.” With each lap, the extra kilos reduce the bike’s agility and the rider’s stamina, adding to Yamaha’s technical nightmare.
Desperation has fueled experimentation. Yamaha’s test rider, Augusto Fernandez, introduced a revolutionary new front wing in practice – a so-called ‘Wave’ style device that combines previous designs in a last-ditch effort for aerodynamic liberation. Quartararo, always an adept tester, tried it but failed. “It’s really a very small difference,” he shrugged, dashing hopes of success.
Meanwhile, Quartararo’s teammate Alex Rins fared no better – finishing 17th, 1.249 seconds behind the faster Aprilia of Bezzecchi. As vehicles like Ducati and Aprilia are moving ahead, both Yamaha riders are grasping at straws.
With the Dutch TT in crisis, the outlook is grim. Yamaha’s problems are systemic and deep-rooted, and their once-proud factory team faces the unthinkable: a season stuck in midfield. Quartararo’s blunt criticism has highlighted the scale of the challenge, and unless a miracle emerges from the engineering department, fans should be prepared for a more difficult weekend ahead. The only question now is whether Yamaha has the capability and vision to put up the fight required to reclaim its place at the top.
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