Fabio Quartararo says the “decision is clear” regarding his MotoGP future, which has also “helped me mentally” amid the current performance frustrations with the new Yamaha V4.

The former world champion is expected to join Honda for the start of the new 850cc era, but “nothing more will come out of my mouth about my future” at this stage.

Instead, Quartararo’s immediate concern ahead of this weekend’s Thai season opener is the lack of progress made by Yamaha’s V4 since he first tried the machine last autumn.

“In September, when we tried the bike in Barcelona, the feeling was not super good. That is normal, because the project was brand new, but the feeling 1772106488 is really similar compared to September,” Speedweek.com quotes Quartararo as saying.

“So of course we expected to make a much bigger step, but… we started much slower than last year [on the Inline M1].”

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Buriram MotoGP Test: Best lap time comparison by manufacturer 2025 vs 2026Manufacturer2025 Test2026 Test2026 DifferenceAprilia1m29.060s1m28.668s-0.392sDucati1m28.855s1m28.836s-0.019sKTM1m29.133s1m29.021s-0.112sHonda1m29.399s1m29.296s-0.103sYamaha1m29.586s(I4)1m29.672s(V4)+0.086s

Although the ultimate lap time was almost the same for Yamaha in the 2025 and 2026 Buriram tests, Quartararo estimated the V4 to be lacking “seven-eight” tenths per lap in race pace compared to the previous Inline machine.

“We know exactly what we miss, and you cannot imagine how many settings, how many things we tried during Sepang, during here [at Buriram], and the feeling was the same,” he said.

“So I think it’s more about the engineers finding a new piece, something completely different, because we still don’t have a base on our bike, at least in my riding style.

“Compared to last year’s test, the race simulation was seven-eighth tenths slower, so this is why I think we need to increase our improvements.

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“We need to improve not only the top speed, we also need to improve turning, the feeling on the front, and electronics. There are many things.”

Quartararo was 17th fastest for outright lap time at the Buriram test, 1.033s behind Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and 0.029s behind the leading Yamaha V4 lap by Pramac’s Jack Miller.

Miller qualified as the top Yamaha in fourth place at last season’s Thai GP. Quartararo was then the top M1 with seventh in the Sprint, before Miller led the way with eleventh in the grand prix race.

Free practice for the 2026 Thai MotoGP starts on Friday morning.

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