Fabio Quartararo: “Prefer not” to start on pole, “gives hope” but “zero potential”

Despite finishing as top non-Ducati rider at the German MotoGP, Fabio Quartararo left Sachsenring lamenting Yamaha’s ongoing race pace problems and questioning the value of his qualifying form.

The 2021 world champion, who started sixth on the grid, was ninth in the early laps and once again struggled to overtake.

Spending much of the race in seventh, the Monster Yamaha rider was able to benefit from crashes ahead by Fabio di Giannantonio, Johann Zarco and Marco Bezzecchi to claim fourth at the chequered flag.

It was his best Sunday result since second place at Jerez.

But Quartararo was far from satisfied, ending the race 18.738s behind winner Marc Marquez and more than 10s adrift of third-placed Francesco Bagnaia.

“I am not happy because we are super slow,” Fabio Quartararo told TNT Sports.

“The feeling of the bike is not great. We finished more than 18 seconds from victory, which is not our goal, but we [also] finished 10 seconds from Pecco.

“We are slow, and we have to understand why we are struggling that much in the races.”

The Sachsenring has been a happy hunting ground for Quartararo in the past, including his and Yamaha's most recent MotoGP win in 2022.

But while Marquez’s race-winning time was 2.8s slower than Bagnaia's last season, in the windy and low-grip conditions, Quartararo was over 4.3s slower than his 11th place finish last year.

Fabio Quartararo: 'I prefer not' to start from pole, 'it gives hope'

Yamaha’s one-lap pace has been a rare highlight in 2025, with Quartararo taking four pole positions this season.

However, Quartararo admits that strong qualifying performances are becoming harder to enjoy when race performance doesn’t follow.

“It is good to make pole position because it helps for the race.

“But I prefer not to start from this position because, in the end, we have zero potential in the races. The grip is super low.

“It gives you hope. But, in the end, you know that you aren’t going to be at the front.”

“It is great to make pole position, there is happiness in the team. But we are happy for something knowing that we will really struggle to maintain the position.

“[It's been a] tough first part of the season.”

Aside from Jerez, the notable Sunday exception was the British MotoGP, where Quartararo was cruelly denied victory due to a ride-height failure.

Meanwhile, turning to the treacherous nature of Sunday’s race, he added: “There was one in Jerez in 2020, something similar.

“They were tricky conditions, especially at Turn 1 with the wind pushing from behind.

“It was not the easiest race.”

MotoGP now moves straight to Brno for the final round before the summer break, with Quartararo holding tenth in the world championship.