Raul Fernandez Speaks Out for the First Time on Brivio’s Move – The Spaniard Discusses Mental Support, His Racing Resurgence, and Uncertainties About the Future
Raul Fernandez was deeply affected when he learned that team manager Davide Brivio would be leaving the Trackhouse team at the end of the 2026 MotoGP season. The Italian will move to Honda to take on an advisory role in management.
Trackhouse boss Justin Marks recently traveled to the race weekend in Barcelona. There, the U.S. team officially confirmed Brivio’s departure. Behind the scenes in the paddock, word had already gotten out a bit earlier.
Fernandez had received the news a week earlier at the race weekend in France. “On Thursday, I heard the news about Davide. To be honest, that didn’t really help me,” the Spaniard reflects on Le Mans.
“Sometimes I have to stop overthinking things I can’t control. I don’t want to think about what will happen to the team. Justin will surely find the best solution for the team.”
For Fernandez, Brivio’s departure was “a big surprise” that he “didn’t expect.” Brivio was a key pillar of support for the 25-year-old within the team. Last year, many discussions took place behind the scenes.
These helped Fernandez immensely mentally, allowing him to unleash his potential on the track. His performance improved noticeably. In the fall of 2025, he made his first mark with a third-place finish in the Sprint in Indonesia.
Fernandez then confirmed this trend with a second-place finish in the Sprint race in Australia. A day later, he won his first Grand Prix in the premier class at Phillip Island. It was also Trackhouse’s first victory.
“Davide was a really good, a really important person for me,” says Fernandez. “At the worst moment of my career—which was last year—he always tried to support me. “
”He always helped me turn the situation around. For me, he was a very important person on the team. But I think we still have a good bike. The team is still with Aprilia.“
”Of course, it was something I didn’t expect when I heard the news. But as I’ve already said, that’s no excuse. We can’t dwell on things we can’t control.”
At first, Fernandez was able to carry the momentum from a strong fall into the 2026 season. At the season opener in Thailand, he finished third in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, but then things got tougher.
Although Fernandez regularly finished in the top 10, he was overshadowed by factory riders Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin. His teammate Ai Ogura was also faster.
Fernandez’s future is uncertain. A promotion to the Aprilia factory team is out of the question, as Francesco Bagnaia will be Bezzecchi’s new teammate in 2027. Staying with the Aprilia satellite team is not out of the question.
When Fernandez was recently asked if he could imagine staying with Trackhouse for another two years, he said, “Yes, why not?” However, with Brivio’s departure, he loses one of his most important advocates within the team.