Fabio Quartararo has been left in MotoGP limbo after his 2021 world championship feat, with Yamaha failing to give him a bike capable of competing for another title.
Quartararo gave Yamaha a deadline for when they won’t be able to stop him from joining a MotoGP rival team.
The Frenchman made it clear that he will decide on his future with the team after the first few races of the 2026 season, with Quartararo’s contract with the Japanese constructor expiring at the end of that same year.
Quartararo hasn’t been on the top step of the podium since the 2022 season.
2025 has offered more in terms of podiums and pole positions, but he is yet to be the first rider to take the chequered flag in a race this season, hence the desire to race elsewhere.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Fabio Quartararo from net worth to career stats
Fabio Quartararo is in the ‘privileged position’ of not needing to worry about salary like Marc Marquez
According to a report from Motosport.com ES, Quartararo could take part in negotiations similar to those of Marc Marquez when he was going back and forth with Ducati.
Marquez told Ducati to pay him what they want to, a tactic that can only be reserved for someone who has greatly benefited from their previous contract, which Marquez, in no doubt, had.
Quartararo is currently on a £10m-a-year contract with Yamaha, half of the figure in which Marquez was rumoured to be pocketing at Honda.
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images
However, the report notes that the £20m that Quartararo would be netting over this season and next season gives him sufficient leverage to be able to shop around at whatever team he likes, even if they aren’t able to match Yamaha’s financial capabilities.
After negotiating with Marquez, Ducati boss Luigi Dall’Igna noted that, “For someone who wants to win, money shouldn’t be an issue”.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend
The main difference between Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez’s Honda exit is that the Yamaha rider knows he still has it
One of the questions Marquez had when deciding on his future was the burning question of whether he was still competitive enough to compete for the world title.
As it stands, after 12 rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season, yes, he was more than capable.
However, the report notes that Quartararo is still well aware that he is at the top of his game right now, and at 26 years old, he doesn’t want to be wasting his peak years as a midfield finisher.
Having had opportunities to leave the team in the past, Carlo Pernat predicted that Quartararo will stay with Yamaha ‘forever’.
Despite this, the report states that the Frenchman’s previous ‘statements’ suggest that the possibility of him staying on at Yamaha after 2026 is ‘impossible’.
Giacomo Agostini has predicted Quartararo to be MotoGP’s only hope in dethroning Marquez’s dominance in a Ducati, but that is only down to if Yamaha can produce something competitive when the 2027 regulations come into effect.