Of the first four races in 2021, Rossi only scored four points at the inaugural Grand Prix of Qatar with the best result of 12th place – even after he slipped from a strong fourth place in qualifying.
Rossi recorded his worst qualifying result of his career to date with 21st place at the Doha GP and was 17th on the grid in the last two races, with the SRT driver coming out of the Spanish GP last weekend in 17th place with no points .
In contrast, factory riders Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo on the same specification from Yamaha have won three of the first four races between them.
Rossi’s main problem continues to be the lack of grip on his M1, which has haunted him in recent years.
With a decision about his racing future expected for the upcoming races, Rossi admitted at the Jerez weekend that he didn’t feel pressured with his current form – while after the race he found the team still had their backs Has.
“It was a difficult race on a difficult weekend in which I never had a rhythm,” said Rossi after the Spanish GP.
“It’s a difficult moment, but the team, Petronas, is very supportive.
“I’m having problems with the setup and I’m not walking fast. You have to find a solution on a technical level.
“We have to be optimistic and stay motivated.”
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Valentino Rossi, Petronas Yamaha SRT
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Rossi evaluated some new setup ideas and parts from Yamaha during the post-race test on Monday at Jerez and finished the day 12th fastest.
He was happy with the progress made but seems to be working harder to regain the time he lost braking while accelerating.
“We really have to improve the pace and the feel of the bike because we struggled a lot over the weekend,” he said.
“The feeling is not that bad.
“We ended the day feeling good, especially because I feel better on the bike and can ride better and my pace has improved a lot.
“We worked well with the team, especially when it came to attitudes towards better braking.
“Yamaha also brought some new things that worked well. All of this helped improve the feel and speed.
“I don’t feel comfortable with the bike because I’m a bit late and this also leads to acceleration problems because I often have problems with the rear handle when getting out and cannot get out of the corner quickly enough.
“So we worked a lot with David on the set [Munoz], with front for settings, also weight distribution for [corner] Drive in faster, go deeper and enter the curve faster.
“That is the goal and we have improved.”