Fabio Quartararo battles with an unstable Yamaha in Portimao, but still manages to get the most out of it – praise comes from Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia
Fabio Quartararo experienced a weekend full of ups and downs in Portugal. The Yamaha rider secured a place on the front row of the grid with a strong qualifying performance, but in the sprint and main race he once again found that the M1 was still lagging behind the leaders.
It was already apparent on Friday that Quartararo would reach the limits of his Yamaha in Portimao. “We are struggling extremely, especially when braking, turning in and accelerating out of corners,” explained the Frenchman after practice.
Difficulties from the start
Stability when braking and traction out of corners were particularly problematic. “Grip is super important on this track. Unfortunately, our bike’s gearshift behavior is quite aggressive, which causes us additional problems.”
The Frenchman spoke openly about his frustration: “When your bike works here, it’s like a roller coaster ride. You enjoy every lap. But when you don’t have any feeling, it’s like riding backwards on a roller coaster. Today wasn’t fun, which is a shame because I actually love this track.“
Although the Yamaha is traditionally stable, ”when you open the throttle and the rear wheel immediately spins or the bike slides sideways when braking, you don’t stand a chance.”
Progress in the sprint and praise from Bagnaia
However, there was a clear improvement in Saturday’s sprint. Quartararo finished the short race in fourth place. He attributed this result to technical adjustments. “I’m a hard late braker, so we changed something at the front so I could brake harder,” said the Frenchman.
And he reveals: “At the same time, we had to reduce the power. Our machine doesn’t accept too much power, so we adjusted the electronics.”
Francesco Bagnaia, who spent many laps directly behind Quartararo, paid him respect after the sprint. “I think Fabio performed a miracle today. When you see how his machine behaves when accelerating out of corners, it was impressive. I tried to catch him, but he was incredibly precise, even though the bike was constantly wobbling,” said the Ducati rider.
Strong race performance on Sunday
In Sunday’s Grand Prix, Quartararo fought hard again, this time over the full distance. He achieved a solid result in sixth place, even though he was ultimately defeated in his duel with Brad Binder despite putting up a long fight.
“I didn’t hold anything back. I gave it my all from the first to the last lap,” he emphasized. “Of course, you try to save the tires, but it was a tough battle.”
Managed to tame his Yamaha ✅
Didn’t manage to hold on to 5th ❌PortugueseGP pic.twitter.com/tgR8Hq0tjK— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) November 9, 2025
A small mistake in turn 5, which allowed Binder to overtake, was the result of his aggressive riding style. “I tried everything on the brakes. When you constantly hear Brad next to you on the straight, you just want to brake even later – and at some point it’s too much.“
Despite everything, Quartararo was satisfied: ”I’m happy with my riding. The result is the maximum with our current package. The important thing is that we turned a difficult Friday into an acceptable weekend.”
