Maverick Vinales issues defiant message over MotoGP future

Maverick Vinales says “I don’t have to convince anybody” that his physical condition will be a sticking point in a team offering him a 2027 MotoGP deal.

The current Tech3 KTM rider was poised for a step up to the brand’s factory team for 2027 alongside Alex Marquez.

However, following a tough start to the 2026 campaign as a result of a loose screw in his shoulder, which forced him to miss three rounds, that talk cooled off.

KTM now looks like it has snared VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio to partner Marquez, leaving Vinales facing an uncertain future.

‘I was the best KTM rider when I was fit’

Maverick Vinales is understood to have an option in his contract for KTM to extend him for next year, which would theoretically come by remaining at Tech3.

But Tech3’s options are seemingly open, with the likes of Raul Fernandez and Luca Marini linked to one seat, while team owner Guenther Steiner has expressed interest in promoting a rookie.

Beyond the KTM stable, there are few options left on the table for Vinales.

However, when asked on Thursday at the Hungarian Grand Prix if he knew what he would be doing in 2027, he offered an intriguing answer.

“Not yet,” he said. “But I also can’t say too much. So, I don’t know.”

Vinales injured his shoulder in a crash at the German Grand Prix last year, which came as he was the clear leader within the KTM stable.

When pressed that his fitness would be a determining factor in a 2027 deal, he defiantly responded: “The shoulder will be good.

“I don’t have to convince anybody, I think. When I was fit in KTM, in that moment I was the leader.

“Then, in that moment, I got injured. But I was in the [Red Bull] APC.

“The APC agreed, the Red Bull Athletes Performance, that I will recover 100%.

“Obviously, it’s not easy because it’s seven months that I don’t use some muscles.

“It needs a bit of time. But what is clear is that I’m going to recover 100%.

“The biggest question was that one: after the second operation, would I be able to recover? But I’ve been able to recover, and that’s the point.”