Yamaha is having a mixed weekend in Hungary: While Miller sees glimmers of hope, Quartararo and Rins are struggling with old problems and new setbacks
The Hungarian Grand Prix presented a familiar picture for Yamaha: On a slow, technically demanding “stop-and-go” track, there are signs of individual progress, but the structural problems of the current package remain.
Miller recognized as early as Friday that the character of the Balaton Park Circuit at least partially suits the Yamaha. The “stop-and-go” nature of the track played into the package’s hands in a certain way. While the fundamental problems remained, he noted that they could “make a bit more of a difference” here.
The bike could brake well and was “not bad” when changing direction. Compared to last year, Miller also spoke of progress at the Hungarian venue.
Miller, in eighth place, was the top Yamaha rider
Having failed to score points in the sprint, the Pramac rider initially benefited from a chaotic start in Turn 1 on Sunday and was on course for a top-5 finish. But as the race progressed, he struggled primarily with a lack of acceleration.
“I was lacking something coming out of the corners,” explains Miller, who focused primarily on conserving the soft rear tire as much as possible to make it to the finish. On the final lap, he still lost a position to Gresini substitute Iker Lecuona and finished the race in eighth place.
The culprit was Yamaha’s top-speed deficit: “I tried to defend my position for 24 laps, and when you’re nearly 15 km/h short on the straights, it’s just tough.” Nevertheless, he remains focused on the long term: points are “just a bonus” for him; what matters is the project’s further development.
Quartararo has to “ride the M1 the wrong way”
For his teammate Fabio Quartararo, however, disillusionment prevails. As early as Friday, the Frenchman spoke of a package that was barely rideable. The gap is around one second, which on a short track is “anything but good.”
The feel on the bike is bad, though slightly better compared to Mugello. Nevertheless, he is forced to ride in a way that “doesn’t correspond at all to how a MotoGP bike should be ridden,” according to Quartararo’s criticism. Riding it, he says, is “no fun at all.”
When asked why he has to ride that way, the Frenchman openly explains his problems: “Because I have to compensate just to get the bike to turn at all. We’re riding at the limit for something that ultimately achieves almost nothing.” His conclusion is correspondingly harsh: “Honestly, I’m just disappointed.”
Quartararo sees no progress at all
He is particularly critical of the fact that the problems have hardly changed over weeks and months. Since the first tests, the feedback on every track has been “copy-paste.”
In the sprint race, the picture was confirmed: Quartararo struggled massively with a lack of grip. The result: “I can barely control the bike and make a lot of mistakes.” In addition, there are recurring shifting issues: “That happens with all Yamahas. That’s more of something the engineers need to solve.”
In the Grand Prix, the situation worsened further. He sensed a technical problem as early as the first lap. He started behind Miller, was still in a decent position, but quickly realized that something wasn’t right.
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Although Quartararo continued, he steadily lost time and, consequently, positions, “not just in individual corners, but especially under braking.” On several occasions, he went wide or even ended up in the gravel traps until he finally had to retire. The rear end, in particular, felt problematic.
Rins with clutch problem in the sprint
His teammate Alex Rins also had a difficult weekend. In the sprint race, his performance was severely hampered by a clutch problem. Although he got off to a good start and was able to slot in behind Quartararo, strong vibrations quickly set in. “There was nothing I could do,” said the Spaniard.
Later, the team analyzed the data and determined that the rear wheel was “bouncing” heavily, which transmitted vibrations to the front wheel. A normal race would not have been possible under these circumstances, which is why he finished last.
Things went a little better on Sunday, although Rins also benefited from the retirements. In the end, he finished 13th and in the points, but behind his Pramac teammates. In addition to Miller, Toprak Razgatlioglu also finished ahead of him in 11th place.