Story byMotorsport photoRachit ThukralSun, February 22, 2026 at 2:47 PM UTC·3 min readFabio Quartararo has laid bare the scale of Yamaha’s deficit with its new V4 MotoGP project, admitting the turnaround could take anything from a few months to the entirety of the 2026 season. Yamaha undertook a daunting task over the winter to effectively build a brand-new bike after abandoning its long-running inline-four engine in favour of a V4 powerplant. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Japanese manufacturer largely struggled for performance and reliability during pre-season testing, with Quartararo even seen showing the middle finger to his bike on Saturday amid growing frustration with the way the project is progressing. At the end of the two-day Buriram test, all four Yamaha riders finished a second off the pace, with Pramac’s Jack Miller leading the quartet in 16th ahead of factory rider Quartararo. While the gap to the front was quite significant, Quartararo was more concerned by the fact that his new V4-powered M1 was slower than its predecessor over long runs: “We can see we are still seven, eight tenths slower than last year's race simulation in the test. I think that is a long process and we need a few more months to be ready.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYamaha had to pause its testing programme at Sepang earlier this month to investigate a safety issue with its V4 powerplant. Although the root cause was identified within 24 hours, the Iwata-based manufacturer continued to restrict engine mileage at Buriram, sticking to the limits it had set before the start of pre-season testing.“Today, the mileage of the engines was over, so we had only one bike,” Quartararo explained. “For what we needed to do today it was enough, because today was more about the setting and everything.