Vinales is coming to the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend after his worst MotoGP weekend, having crossed the finish line last in Germany and qualified 21st.
Since his GP victory in Qatar in March, Vinales has not disrupted the podium while Quartararo has won three times and leads the championship with 22 points.
Vinales said to Germany that he does not feel respected by Yamaha in dealing with his current situation and admitted on Thursday in Assen that he has “given up” several times this year and will now copy Quartararo’s bike setup after he initially did this idea was rejected.
In an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, Quartararo praised Vinales’ skills as a racing driver, but he feels that on those difficult days he has to “save” his weekends by accepting ending up in lower positions than he can manage can.
“For me, Maverick is one of the best drivers in the championship,” said Quartararo.
“When he’s fast he’s so hard, almost impossible for anyone to beat. I remember starting 2017 with Yamaha, he won the first two races, then Le Mans.
“It’s just so fast, but a little inconsistent at times. But for me he’s one of the fastest guys I’ve ever seen on a track. “
Quartararo added: “He’s had some tough times, including at Mugello, in Germany. It was a bit strange, but he’ll be there for sure this weekend.
“It’s one of his favorite tracks, but – for me – he just has to try to save in the difficult moments [the weekend]even if it’s for the seventh or eighth or ninth or tenth position.
“Because I don’t think the bike could win at the Sachsenring, but it wasn’t the last. And I think that was my problem in those moments last year.
“I was unhappy with 12th, 14th place and fell, I exceeded the limit. But in many races you have to fight for three, four points, five, even one.
“I remember winning the Spanish championship in 2013 by one point. But to be honest, I have no idea about the problem he has now. “
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Vinales has gone through numerous difficult times since joining Yamaha in 2017, with the team having switched crew chiefs twice in the past five years to help him out. The last change came in Barcelona when Valentino Rossi’s former ally Silvano Galbusera was drafted to replace Esteban Garcia, who in turn replaced Ramon Forcada in 2019.
After Quartararo’s title inclination was spectacularly revealed in the final races in 2020, he worked with a psychologist over the winter – something he has already done in his career.
Every time he has done this, Quartararo has made breakthroughs on the track and the Frenchman noted that Vinales could benefit from changing his own mindset.
“I think the most important thing in a team is the mental side, because even if you have the best bike in the championship, if someone put your mind on it or you remembered that the bike wasn’t working, you wouldn’t go [to go] fast, ”he said when asked if Vinales could learn from him in terms of the mental approach.
“And even if you sometimes don’t have the best bike and just say, ‘I’m going to win, I’m going to fight for something great,’ you will do better.
“It’s about believing in yourself and trying to try. I learned that from last year and I think it’s so important. “