Motorsport.com reported on Sunday morning that Vinales is considering leaving Yamaha at the end of the season and racing with Aprilia in 2022 as the relationship between the Spaniard and his team has bottomed out.
Vinales was signed by Yamaha in 2017 to replace Ducati-bound Jorge Lorenzo and won three of his first five races on the M1. But since then its shape has been inconsistent on the Yamaha as the bike itself was also a mixed shape.
After winning on the opening night of the 2021 season in Qatar, Vinales would not reach a podium until the Dutch TT last Sunday in Assen, while teammate Fabio Quartararo has won four times and is currently 34 points ahead in the championship.
Yamaha attempted to stem the decline of Vinales by swapping crew chief Esteban Garcia for ex-Valentino Rossi ally Silvano Galbusera in Barcelona, although this appears to have only increased tension between the two parties as Garcia is a close friend of Vinales is.
Vinales had its worst MotoGP weekend in Germany, qualifying 21st and finishing last, criticizing Yamaha’s response to its problems in 2021 – and apparently in recent years – as disrespectful.
Vinales denied ties to Aprilia after the Assen race but admitted leaving Yamaha was “an option” for him.
On Monday morning, after an Assen weekend in which he was on pole and second in the race, Yamaha announced that both parties had agreed to part ways in late 2021 after Vinales wanted to terminate the contract.
Yamaha CEO Lin Jarvis expressed his grief over the decision, but has vowed that Yamaha will “fully support” Vinales for the remainder of 2021.
“It is with sadness that we will see Maverick farewell at the end of the year,” said Jarvis. “We are in the middle of our fifth season together and have reached many highs over the years, but also had to overcome many lows.
“After the German GP, the most difficult weekend of our partnership, we held important talks in Assen and came to the conclusion that it is in our mutual interest to go our separate ways in the future.
“Yamaha will – as we have always done – make every effort to give Maverick their full support and to end this season as well as possible.”
Vinales himself added: “This partnership has been very important to me over the past five years and it has been a difficult decision to part with. In these seasons together, we have seen both great successes and difficult times.
“However, the basic feeling is mutual respect and appreciation. I am fully committed and will strive to achieve the best results for the rest of the season.”
Aprilia denied having had discussions with Vinales on Sunday but was open to the idea of the nine-time MotoGP race winner joining the Italian brand in 2022.
Yamaha may have two motorcycles up for grabs in 2022, with the seat next to Fabio Quartararo to be occupied, while Valentino Rossi’s likely resignation will release an M1 at Petronas SRT.
The logical replacement for Vinales would be the 2020 championship runner-up, Franco Morbidelli, who is currently injured after an operation on his knee last week.
Morbidelli has a contract with SRT for 2022 but is believed to have an escape clause that can be triggered should a factory team offer him a deal.