In this MotoGP season so far, Fabio Quartararo has stood out as the only rider who has consistently been able to challenge Marc Marquez for pole positions. Quartararo, who rides for the Yamaha factory team, has shown remarkable speed during qualifying sessions, earning the fastest lap at four different Grands Prix so far.

Marc Marquez, who is riding for Ducati and currently leading the championship, has taken pole positions seven times this season, dominating so far. The only other rider to claim pole this year has been Francesco Bagnaia at the Czech Grand Prix.

Despite Quartararo’s impressive qualifying record, his race results have not matched the promise. His only podium finish this year came at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, where he finished second behind Marquez. This gap between qualifying speed and race results is very confusing for everyone.

At the recent race in Brno, Quartararo qualified in third place but finished sixth, trailing the winner by over 11 seconds. During the race, he was beaten by two Ducati riders, two Aprilia riders, and one KTM rider. He might have placed even lower if not for Enea Bastianini, who crashed while running in a podium position.

Quartararo has been very honest about the struggles Yamaha faces in comparison to its rivals. The current Yamaha M1 uses a four-cylinder engine, unlike its main competitors who all use V4 engines. The difference in engine design affects the bike’s overall performance, especially in power delivery and handling.

“I’m no engineer, but from what I see, Ducati, KTM, and Aprilia all have different chassis designs, yet they share one thing in common—the V4 engine,” Quartararo explained in a recent interview with MotoGP.com. “We have the same weaknesses compared to those bikes, so I believe the engine is the biggest reason.”

Yamaha has been working hard to address these problems. In September 2024, Autosport revealed that Yamaha had begun developing a new V4 engine to replace their current inline four. Test riders Augusto Fernandez and Andrea Dovizioso have already been testing the new engine on track. Originally, Yamaha planned to introduce the new engine in the second half of 2025, but the debut has now been delayed until 2026. Yamaha insists that the new engine will only be introduced if it shows clear improvement over the current model.

Quartararo has been pushing Yamaha to make progress quickly for a long time. But he also understands that improvement takes time. That’s why he continues pushing Yamaha to improve the current bike as well, pointing out the M1 is losing grip, especially under braking and when entering corners.

“We lack grip,” Quartararo told Crash.net. “The exit of corners is not too bad, but under braking and corner entry, we lose a lot. This really hurts us in races.”

In April 2024, Quartararo signed a two-year contract extension with Yamaha. However, he made it clear he wants to see real progress before committing his best years to the team. Despite his speed in qualifying, he has not won a race since 2022.

His 2025 season has been marked by near misses and frustrations. At Silverstone in May, while leading comfortably, his Yamaha suffered a mechanical failure and forced him to retire from the race. Moments like these underline that pole positions alone cannot win championships.

Quartararo has also been struggling to maintain pace and overtake rivals during races. “I don’t know why it happens,” he said after the Czech Grand Prix. “When I’m riding alone, I can find my rhythm and push near the limit. But in a group, I lose grip, power, aerodynamics, and overall performance.”

But Quartararo remains hopeful about Yamaha’s future. The manufacturer is investing heavily in research and development, with the goal of bringing the new V4 engine to the grid by 2026. Meanwhile, the team is also working on improving the current M1 to give Quartararo better grip and braking performance.