Valentino Rossi says Maverick Vinales’ shocking exit from the Yamaha MotoGP factory team in late 2021 will not affect his decision to continue racing in 2022.
On Monday morning, Yamaha announced that it would part ways with Vinales towards the end of this season and break the deal a year ahead of schedule after the relationship between the two parties deteriorated.
Nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle world champion Rossi has no contract with Yamaha for 2022 and admitted last Thursday that it was “very difficult” for him to extend his MotoGP career given his lackluster results this season.
With only 17 points from the first nine races and a best result of 10th place, 2021 is Rossi’s worst season in Grand Prix racing.
When asked by Motorsport.com in Assen on Sunday whether Vinales, who is leaving Yamaha, could influence his own plans for 2022, Rossi replied: “Well, it looks like something will change in the next week.
“I don’t know very well, but maybe something will change that we don’t expect.
“But to be honest, it doesn’t change anything about my decision for me because my decision correlates with the results.
“So what happens to the other team and the other Yamahas is not much of a difference [to my plans]. “
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Rossi crashed on the 7th of the 26th lap at Sunday’s Dutch TT after falling back to 21st place from a bad start, meaning he has scored points in just four races this year.
With a decision about his MotoGP future expected to be made during the five-week summer break between Assen and Austria, Rossi admits that his Dutch TT result won’t be the deciding factor.
“You know, it’s not today,” he said when his result in Assen was important for his future decision.
“I mean, I’ve always said that I know this year will be difficult, it will be a big challenge.
But my decision for next year depends very much on the results.
“So the results of the first half of the season do not meet our expectations. We hoped to be stronger and to fight for better positions.
“So the result doesn’t help us. Now is not the time because I said at the beginning of the season that I would make up my mind in the next few weeks [in the summer break] about next year and it will be and we will let you know when we decide. “
Rossi will bring his VR46 team to MotoGP next season as the Ducati satellite team, with the Saudi prince backing the team and stating in the official press release last week that he hoped Rossi would race for his own squad.
Rossi, however, dismissed this idea as unlikely.