Yamaha's MotoGP team has been struggling for a while, but things are changing and looking better for them. Over the past few weeks, their bike has improved a lot. It's now performing more like it did during pre-season testing, where it showed a lot of promise.

One of the biggest turnarounds for the team came at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, where Fabio Quartararo gave an incredible performance. He finished the race in second place, making it Yamaha’s best result in three years. It was also the first time since 2022 that they truly earned a podium finish through strong performance—not just by luck or unusual race events.

Even before the race itself, Quartararo showed how much progress they had made. He took pole position and started the race at the front. This was especially important because he had said before the season that his biggest problem in 2024 was one-lap pace, which meant he often started races too far back on the grid. That made it very hard to fight for top positions.

Quartararo further explained: “The worst part last year wasn’t the race itself,” he said to Crash.net. “It was qualifying. We always started far back, and overtaking was really difficult.”

Now, things are different. Yamaha has given him two front-row starts in a row, which means they’ve likely fixed the problem. This gives all four Yamaha riders a much better chance to compete.

Thanks to this progress, Quartararo is now sixth in the MotoGP Championship standings, making him the best non-Ducati rider at the moment.

At Jerez, Quartararo was just a little bit behind Alex Márquez, who won the race. If Yamaha finds a bit more speed, Quartararo might be able to fight for wins again. It’s worth noting that Jerez is one of Quartararo’s favorite tracks, so he may not be this strong at every circuit, but the signs are very promising.

We must also not forget that Yamaha is getting help from the MotoGP concession system, which allows underperforming teams to bring more upgrades during the season. This means Yamaha can keep improving their bikes throughout the year.

Also, Quartararo had been asking Yamaha for better upgrades, and now it looks like his loyalty is paying off. If Yamaha and Quartararo keep improving, we could be in for some exciting races in the rest of 2025.