Fabio Quartararo has delivered a cautious first verdict on Yamaha’s new V4 M1, admitting that the bike has not yet addressed any of the key weaknesses.
After getting his first taste of the V4-powered Yamaha in a private test at Barcelona a week earlier, the 2021 world champion completed his second outing on the prototype during a post-race test at Misano, finishing 17th in the morning session and over a second off the pace of Alex Marquez.
“At the moment, it’s worse,” Quartararo said when asked how the V4 compares to Yamaha’s inline-four M1.
“In Barcelona, we felt some difference, which for me was in a better way. Here, we haven’t found it yet.”
“At the moment, I see no improvement in the area that we really need to make [some]. But like the team said, in theory, there is still some margin [with the new engine].”
Yamaha has been pushing the development of a V4 engine after concluding that its inline-four M1 had reached its performance ceiling.
However, Quartararo is unconvinced that a new engine alone will resolve most, if any, of the team’s struggles.
“I don’t think that the V4 engine will resolve all our problems because we still find the same problems in Barcelona and here,” he said.
“In Barcelona, it was a bit better, but in Barcelona, the track is really smooth. There are not so many corners straight away, like here, Turns 1, 2, 3, and 11, 12, 13.”
For the first time, we can see the V4 in El Diablo's hands 🔥😈#MisanoTest ⏱️ pic.twitter.com/24xZk1jX6Q
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 15, 2025
“There, it’s much more one corner after another. So you have a lot of time between them. But then the bike is super aggressive and still has a job [to do].”
Quartararo also addressed comments from Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez, who had flagged issues with the front-end of the V4.
“It’s not really a matter of front feeling, it’s a matter of turning for me,” he explained.
“Of course, the feeling of the inline-four is really good. It’s the strongest point of the bike, but it’s the only one that we have.”
“The [V4] is maybe a bit worse right now, but we don’t find any other really positive. So this is what we are going to try, and try to figure out what is possible.”
“I have zero problems adapting myself to a V4,” he said, confident in his ability to handle the different engine layout, although he never rode anything other than an inline-4 throughout his MotoGP career.
While Jack Miller was more optimistic about the new M1, recognising that the project simply needs more time, Quartararo remained rather pessimistic.
