Major Morbidelli bombshell: “Do I want another year with Yamaha?”
His 2024 MotoGP seat is perhaps the most under-threat on the entire grid - but his reaction after the Italian MotoGP was a huge shock.
For the first time, Morbidelli indicated that his desire might not even be to retain his Yamaha ride.
Asked if a 10th-place finish could help earn him a new contract, he replied: “I don’t care, I don’t care.
“I need to be focused on being the best professional that I can be, the best rider that I can be.
“I don’t race according to my future, according to my contract. I race according to my passion.”
Asked about his Yamaha future, he sharply answered: “Talk with [Yamaha managing director Lin Jarvis].”
Morbidelli was told that his good performance at Mugello was beneficial to him, but he hit back: “To do what?”
To stay at Yamaha, he was told…
But he said: “Do I want to secure another year with Yamaha?”
Well, do you?
Morbidelli just said: “Talk with Lin.”
Jorge Martin, Marco Bezzecchi and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu have been linked with taking Morbidelli’s place next season at various stages this year so far.
The Mooney VR46 team could be a potential landing spot for Morbidelli, given his closeness to Valentino Rossi’s squad, should Bezzecchi move on.
At Mugello, his P10 finish out-performed esteemed teammate Fabio Quartararo.
“It was a decent weekend,” Morbidelli said.
“We worked at the maximum. We made the right choice, the right modification on the bike.
“The team worked very hard to maximise what we have.
“Finally, this top 10 came.
“We are not where we want to be, for sure.”
He later added: “I was believing in something good but, then, the front pressure temperature went up.
“I needed to bring the bike home. We did it with a top 10.
“We know, even if the position is not good, that we are doing the maximum.
“We are expressing very good work when we are at races.
“But we need to keep going because we know it is not enough.
“I passed Bastianini but I caught up with Marco, Aleix and Miller. “When I was behind them, the pressure went up.
“Then the front starts to attack. I could not brake as I could.
“I just needed to bring the bike in, in one piece.”
