Maverick Vinales has left a clear indication that he is ready to leave the Yamaha Factory Racing team to rediscover his form and consistency, the absence of which has persistently castrated his MotoGP title-challenging ambitions.
The Spaniard took part in an interview with the Spanish broadcaster DAZN, which will be broadcast this weekend before the MotoGP event in Catalonia.
In promos for the spot, Vinales openly discusses his future, which means he made a mistake in choosing to stay with Yamaha for his current contract cycle, which ends at the end of the 2022 MotoGP season.
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“Quiet, very calm. I don’t want to make any more mistakes,” he was quoted as saying by MotoGP.com.
“I want to make a good decision, really go down the path that suits me best, because in the end I had to adapt a lot during these years, especially my driving style, and try to choose the option that suits me best fits that I can fight for the world championship.
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“That doesn’t mean I won’t get the chance this year, does it? But I get frustrated that I can’t reach my potential.
“In the end, sometimes you don’t make the best decisions in life. I think a few years ago I didn’t make the best decision, so I won’t be wrong anymore. “
How did Maverick Vinales go wrong at Yamaha?
The “mistake” Vinales is referring to is almost certainly his decision to sign back with Yamaha for the 2021 and 2022 MotoGP seasons rather than instead accepting an offer to join Ducati.
His current contract was announced in January 2020 and this was followed by confirmation that Fabio Quartararo – who was also approached by Ducati – would replace Valentino Rossi in the works squad.
Since then, Vinales’ swaying form – sometimes wild – has turned the Spaniard into one of MotoGP’s most complex puzzles … even to himself.
Vinales is often quick over a single lap and has occasionally translated this into exceptionally dominant performances on race day. Also this season, Vinales was at the top of the podium and won the start of the MotoGP season 2021 with a meticulous and well-considered effort in Qatar.
However, his eight career victories – two of them in his first two races with Yamaha in 2017 – were punctuated by a loss of form that even Vinales finds difficult to explain with Yamaha.
In fact, Vinales has only had one top 6 result since his victory in Qatar and was dwarfed by three-time race winner and series leader Quartararo.
It has resulted in the departure of Vinales’ crew chief Esteban Garcia, who was replaced for the remainder of the year by former Rossi consultant Silvano Galbusera. It’s a decision Vinales was quick to point out on Thursday that was made by Yamaha, adding that he didn’t ask for a significant mid-season change.
The interview is likely to spark discussions about whether Vinales will even see the end of his Yamaha deal, with neither party likely reluctant to move on. However, he would find few attractive alternative options as most drivers are in the middle of a contract cycle.
However, Yamaha might see it as an opportunity to force him onto the satellite Petronas SRT team instead, swapping him out for Franco Morbdelli, who – it looks like – would be a logical choice to replace Vinales.