Maverick Vinales said it was a “clear mistake” to leave Suzuki to join the Yamaha Factory MotoGP team and said he was “insane” for failing to get the Yamaha M1 running consistently.
The Spaniard, of the 2013 Moto3 World Championship, moved up to MotoGP with Suzuki after impressing during his rookie season in Moto2 and led the Hamamatsu brand’s return to the top flight after a break.
Vinales spent two years at Suzuki, earning the manufacturer its first MotoGP win since 2007 with victory at the 2016 British MotoGP at Silverstone, and was brought in by Yamaha to replace Ducati-bound three-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo.
Despite a promising start to life with the Japanese company with three wins from his first five races with the team, Vinales became known for its inconsistent form over the next four and a half seasons. He left Yamaha in mid-2021 when his contract was terminated as punishment for “deliberately” damaging his bike when he deliberately over-revved it in frustration with performance.
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In an interview with The Race, Vinales admits that leaving an ascending Suzuki team for Yamaha in 2017 was wrong, although he says it was mostly because he had to fight for so long to get the M1 to his liking to design.
“I don’t want to talk too much about the past, but it is clear that I made a mistake. We ended up putting together a really good team, but at that moment the Yamaha was a winning bike and I decided to go down this path. I don’t know if it was right or wrong because in the end you make your choice.
“I just want to say nice words to you because I have nothing bad to say. I’ve always said the bike is great but we didn’t really know how it worked because sometimes I felt unbeatable and sometimes I was last. I went crazy. “
After leaving Yamaha, Vinales signed a two-year deal with Aprilia, but made an early move to the Italian manufacturer towards the end of the MotoGP season in 2021 when he became a free agent.
“I wanted to feel a team around me, that’s why I’ve changed. To have this whole atmosphere, this passion and, above all, because I think that it drives you even more when you go to a place where everyone is hungry. “