MotoGP insiders explain Yamaha 2025 progress and lingering issues

Yamaha is still without a victory in MotoGP since Fabio Quartararo won the 2022 German Grand Prix, but despite scoring only one grand prix podium in 2025 it did make progress.

In particular, Yamaha solved its problem of generating temperature in the tyres, which allowed it to be more explosive in qualifying, an improvement highlighted by Fabio Quartararo’s five pole positions in 2025 – more than any other rider bar 2025 champion Marc Marquez.

“In the past, the problem was that they cannot put a lot of energy straight away, they cannot heat the tyre,” explained Michelin Two-Wheel Motorsport Manager Piero Taramasso, speaking to MotoGP.com.

“Now they improved that, and Fabio [Quartararo] is very strong to do that because he’s very aggressive, he’s braking very hard.

“In this way the weight of the bike is going into the front tyre, the rear tyre. He makes enough temperature to get the grip.”

Yamaha MotoGP Technical Director Max Bartolini added that Quartararo’s experience with the the YZR-M1 has allowed him to develop specific attributes that aim to work around the bike’s biggest weakness: straight line speed.

“He [Quartararo] grew up in Yamaha, so he knows the positive and negative character of the bike,” said Bartolini.

“He’s very good to interpret the bike and understand the limit of this bike. 

“Also Jack [Miller] made some really good fast laps, so this I think was the improvement that we had. 

“For sure, still not enough because we should be more constantly on the first two or three rows.”

If the pole positions are evidence of Yamaha’s one-lap improvement, its solitary podium – taken by Quartararo at Jerez – is proof of its continuing lack of performance on Sundays.

“When the tyres lose grip, like for everybody, the others lose 0.2 and we lose 10 – this is our problem that we have right now,” explained Bartolini.

“If you have a range around the grip that you can adjust, that is when the tyre is new, it’s much easier and you can use the potential of the bike. 

“When the tyres drop, you cannot in any case use the potential of the bike because it’s difficult for you to manage.”

The Italian engineer added that Quartararo has tried to adjust his riding style to try to protect the tyres: “Fabio is trying to manage, trying to open carefully the throttle, trying to pick up, trying to make everything smooth as possible.”

Taramasso also said that he thinks the characteristics of the Yamaha make it a bike which should work better with used tyres than new ones, because as the tyre wears it becomes less reactive.

“When the tyre is new, the level of grip is quite high and the bike sticks very strongly to the racetrack,” he said.

“If you put energy and load, then when the tyre suddenly [loses] grip, the movement is quite strong, quite aggressive, and the bike moves a lot. 

“Yamaha cannot slide, cannot carry enough speed.

“When the tyre is used, the tyre movement is more progressive, it’s more gentle, so it’s more easy to anticipate. 

“It helps you to get the correct line, and it’s something that can help Yamaha because we know that the Yamaha, the strong point, is the speed in the corner.”