Fabio Quartararo frustrated by Yamaha problems and race penalties

Fabio Quartararo had a very difficult race at the Hungarian MotoGP at Balaton Park after a mystery problem affected his Yamaha bike.

The French rider made a strong start to the race and moved up to sixth place after a crash involving several riders at Turn 1. At that stage, he looked capable of fighting for a good result.

However, Quartararo soon realised that something was wrong with his machine. He began losing places because he was struggling to slow the bike down properly when braking. The problem became worse as the race continued, forcing him to run wide on several occasions.

While trying to manage the issue, Quartararo cut across the Turn 10 chicane twice. Race officials decided that he had not given up enough time after leaving the track and handed him two separate long-lap penalties. The penalties dropped him far down the order and out of the points.

After serving both penalties, Quartararo continued for a few more laps but eventually retired from the race with only four laps remaining. It was the first time this season that he failed to finish a Sunday MotoGP race.

Speaking afterwards, the 2021 MotoGP World Champion said he felt that the bike was "wrong everywhere". He explained that the biggest problem appeared under braking, but the poor feeling was affecting the whole motorcycle. Quartararo added that the issue seemed to come mainly from the rear of the bike, although the team still needed to investigate exactly what had happened.

At first, the problem was described as a possible technical issue. Later, Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli suggested that the medium rear tyre may have been the cause. According to Yamaha, the tyre did not work well with the bike in the race conditions at Balaton Park. The lack of grip and confidence may have contributed to Quartararo's mistakes, the penalties and his eventual retirement.

The result was another frustrating weekend for Quartararo and Yamaha. Although the team has shown signs of progress during the 2026 season, the new V4-powered machine is still being developed and riders have continued to search for better grip and consistency. Quartararo has recently spoken about the need for improvements in power delivery, rear grip and overall performance if Yamaha wants to challenge the leading manufacturers more regularly.

For Quartararo, the Balaton Park race was one to forget. What started as a promising afternoon quickly turned into a struggle, ending with two penalties, a retirement and many unanswered questions about what went wrong with his Yamaha.