Maverick Vinales already has one foothold in Yamaha, more than that, and the announcement of his move to Lorenzo’s M1 could come any moment. Suzuki, who did everything in his power to keep him, now has to think about the future.
Two years ago, Davide Brivio took a risk that paid off, but now he has to reform his team on Hot Trait.
The manager doesn’t have that many options, but some are interesting. People have been talking about the Andrea Iannone-Suzuki contact for a while, and that is still the case. At Ducati there is only one free seat and the Italian is considering a change; that wouldn’t be a bad move.
In Suzuki he would be the first driver, a different role from Lorenzo’s “second” driver in Ducati. Andrea would be an interesting proposal for the Japanese manufacturer, with MotoGP experience and undeniable speed, even if it is not always constant. Together, Iannone and the GSX-RR could try to take the step that has been missing so far – to be able to compete against the best in every single race.
However, Brivio could choose to invest in a youngster and Alex Rins is the most interesting driver from that point of view. The Spaniard said after his Le Mans victory: “I’m not worried about my future, I have several offers on the table”.
Going to Suzuki would be the only way for him to debut in the reigning class with a works team and a competitive bike. In that sense, the situation would be better than for Vinales, who was climbing on a brand new machine. Besides, he wouldn’t face any particular pressure and could go a similar path as Maverick.
The pairing Iannone – Rins is also not that unlikely, if Aleix Espargarò allows it. Aleix has made up some of the lost ground after a less brilliant start to the season, despite losing compared to Vinales. Suzuki could give him another chance or opt for a complete move.
The story goes on…