Yamaha carefully selected his card, placed it on the table, and turned it over: the ace had the face of Maverick Viñales imprinted on it. Not a banal move, because many observers saw a future for the Spaniard in Ducati. It’s also a big problem for Ducati (HERE you can read what sports director Paolo Ciabatti had to say immediately), which will be forced to revise its plans, but this renewal could also cause other headaches.
We are referring to Valentino Rossi, whose future may hold surprises in store. The doctor obviously has no intention of leaving Yamaha, He only has a few more seasons to go, and there would be no point in embarking on adventures the risks of which would surely outweigh the benefits. Different scenarios therefore open up for him.
OPTION 1 – Quartararo ‘parked’ in Petronas, waiting for Valentino’s seat
It would be too easy to believe that they will move on to Iwata alongside Viñales, but it would mean “counting chickens before they hatch,” which metaphorically refers to Fabio Quartararo. The Frenchman was the revelation of 2019, he is very young and a loss would not be allowed. Yamaha has already shown that he cares by giving him a factory M1 in 2020, which was not originally included in his contract; It may seem like a small letter of commitment, but it makes sense that the Frenchman is now expecting the ring of official livery on this motorcycle.
At this point, unless Valentino decides to retire, several scenarios open up. Let’s look at the possibilities, even if the number of permutations is limited.
The first option would be to keep Fabio on the Petronas team (a satellite team, but with budgets and organization that are in no way inferior to factory outfits) with “full factory” treatment, as it is called, and ask him for another year waiting . That way, Rossi would stay in his place on the official team and the final handover would be in 2022.
Quartararo is not yet 21 years old so time is on his side and he could accept such a solution. The advantages would be the continuity with the team and with a bike that he could interpret optimally from the start. Leaving the M1 for a participant may require a new phase of learning and the road may prove to be more difficult than expected (Lorenzo docet).
OPTION 2 – Rossi in Petronas, but in the family team with Marini
Otherwise, it could be the Doctor who accepts a “demotion,” meaning relocating lock, warehouse, and barrel to the Petronas satellite team. The Malaysian team couldn’t be happier with this takeover, but it would be strange to see a legend like Valentino embrace this Plan B. At least – to quote Macchiavelli – unless the ends justify the means.
The end would be his brother Luca Marini. Rossi may want to repeat at Yamaha what the Marquez clan has already done at Honda: a family team under the Petronas banner. The project is certainly fascinating because it would be like handing over the baton to the rider closest to him, his brother.
After many years in racing, the doctor is constantly looking for new ideas and the opportunity to work with Luca would be one of them. For that he would have to sacrifice his protégé Franco Morbidelli, but it could be worth it. The two brothers drove together in Abu Dhabi for the Gulf 12 Hours sports car race in November and they both enjoyed the experience so it is very tempting to be able to repeat it on a motorcycle for a full year.
This scenario could happen as early as 2021 or maybe wait another year until 2022.
OPTION 3 – Retirement
However, all of these reveries (for the time being) are held together by the assumption that Valentino is still competitive, otherwise he could decide to give up and thus pave the way for Quartararo.
In order for this not to happen, the Doctor just has to be faster than 2019. It is not absolutely necessary to aim for the title, but to fight for the podium if he cannot take the victory. For this reason, winter testing and the first laps of the season are more important than usual. Yamaha will be monitoring the situation closely but cannot afford to wait too long.
The season hasn’t started yet, but the driver market is already getting hot. Yamaha took the first step, now it’s up to Valentino.