Vinales “still has to do with his inner demons,” says Yamaha MotoGP boss

Vinales joined Yamaha in 2017 after spending his first two years in MotoGP with Suzuki, but struggled with inconsistent form during his time with the team – he won just eight times between 2017 and 2021.

The Spaniard won the opening round of the 2021 season in Qatar convincingly, but the relationship between Vinales and Yamaha clouded over in the first half of the season.

PLUS: How Quartararo put previous doubts aside to become the new king of MotoGP

Vinales took 21st place in Germany and 19th place in Assen in June.

However, after attempting to deliberately damage the engine of his Yamaha at the Styrian Grand Prix as frustration over his current situation boiled over, Vinales was banned from the team for the Austrian GP before being dropped altogether ahead of the UK GP .

Vinales landed at Aprilia from the Aragon GP and will stay there for 2022, while Quartararo won the championship after winning five races over the course of the season.

Speaking exclusively to Autosport’s Spanish-language sister site Motorsport.es, Jarvis believes Vinales is talented enough to do what Quartararo did in 2021 – but is being held back by his own “inner demons”.

“From my point of view, Maverick is a very complicated person and I think he probably shares the same raw natural talent as Fabio,” said Jarvis.

“But it is difficult for him to put it together consistently. And I think that’s one side of his character that goes up and down, and that’s what Fabio has improved this year.

Lin Jarvis, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“It had its ups and downs last year, but now this year he’s managed to minimize the lows and hold the highs.

“And I think we always said that at Maverick, that we know that he always had the potential and that this year started his fifth year at Yamaha in the factory project.”

Also read:

He added, “So this year he could have done what Fabio finally did. He won the first race, and then the second race was won by Fabio.

“Do you remember the year before Fabio won three races on the satellite team and Maverick only won one race.

“I think Maverick was fully aware of how fast Fabio is, and I think Maverick is still somehow dealing with his inner demons.

“And I think that’s something only he can fix. Only he can really manage his mind and his life. “

Three-time race winner Franco Morbidelli has been drafted to replace Vinales from the San Marino GP on the Yamaha factory team and has signed a two-year contract to hold out until the end of 2023.