Fabio Quartararo expressed his disappointment with Yamaha’s performance in the opening race of the 2024 MotoGP season in Qatar. He believed Yamaha was in a worse position than Honda, stating they were “further away than ever” from the front. Despite improvements made to the 2024 specification Yamaha M1, such as increased top speed and renewed aerodynamics, the team struggled in testing and qualifying. Quartararo and his new teammate, Alex Rins, were eliminated in Q1 by a significant margin. In the race, they faced difficulties in preserving their tires, leading to a conservative engine mapping and a frustrating result for Quartararo, who finished in 11th place and earned five points.
During his post-race press conference, Quartararo acknowledged the difference between Yamaha and its competitors, emphasizing the hard work needed to close that gap. He expressed his frustration, knowing his own potential and where he could be on the grid. Yamaha’s performance in Qatar was insignificant compared to Ducati, which claimed the top positions in the race. Although Yamaha has historically been successful in the Qatar Grand Prix, winning two of the last seven races, they struggled this time. Quartararo admitted they were further behind compared to the previous year, and their European rivals, such as Ducati, KTM, and Aprilia, made significant progress.
Quartararo highlighted the issue of his potential slow start on the first lap, preventing them from keeping up with the leaders. Despite a good start and being close to other riders, Quartararo found that they lacked acceleration in long corners, which used to be one of their strengths. This weakness raised questions about their performance and why they struggled in this type of corner. Quartararo noted that the gap to the front was only slightly larger in the full race compared to the half-distance race, indicating that the early laps were where the most damage was done. He acknowledged that Yamaha was significantly behind their competitors and questioned why they couldn’t match their speed in shorter races.
When asked about the comparison between Yamaha’s bike and others, Quartararo admitted that they were “further away than ever” from their competitors.
