– That Fabio Quartararo will switch from Yamaha to Honda after the current MotoGP season 2026 was already clear behind the scenes at the end of January. A few days ago, Quartararo’s move to Honda was finally announced publicly. This makes it definitively clear that the Frenchman, the 2021 MotoGP World Champion, will pilot a different brand for the first time in his time in the premier class in the upcoming 2027 season.
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Quartararo made his MotoGP debut at the beginning of the 2019 season in the then Yamaha satellite team SRT, which was sponsored by Petronas. He rode for this team for two years and achieved the first three of his currently twelve MotoGP wins during this period.
For the 2021 season, Quartararo replaced none other than Valentino Rossi in the Yamaha factory team. It was a direct swap, as the seven-time MotoGP World Champion from Italy moved to Petronas-Yamaha for 2021. However, he stayed there for only one year. In August, Rossi announced his retirement at the end of the season. In November, he actually got on a MotoGP bike for a race for the last time.
Quartararo, in turn, became world champion in his first season with the Yamaha factory team. He added three more wins to his then five season victories in the following 2022 season. However, since the 2022 German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, he has been waiting for more than four years for another win.
Photo series: The career highlights of Fabio Quartararo
With his decision made in winter to leave the Yamaha factory team after six years and Yamaha as a whole after eight years, Quartararo wants to give new momentum to his career. His upcoming move to Honda coincides with the switch to the new technical MotoGP regulations for 2027.
At Honda, Quartararo will get the crew chief who currently works with Luca Marini, namely Cristhian Pupulin. However, at this point, Quartararo does not necessarily expect to be able to compete for wins right from the start at Honda. He wants to use his last half season with Yamaha, not least, to prepare himself for his new challenge. He does not expect any technical updates for the rest of the 2026 season anyway.
It won’t be “perfect right away” at Honda either
At the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, the last race before the current MotoGP summer break, Quartararo finished P7, leaving all four Honda riders behind him. After many setbacks in previous years, he said at the Sachsenring: “Of course, I prefer to finish P7 rather than P15. And that will, in a way, be my motivation for the rest of the year.”
“I know that nothing big will change for me anymore [at Yamaha], but I just want to be prepared for the coming year. It won’t be perfect right away just because I switch,” said Quartararo. At that time, he was not yet allowed to directly mention Honda in connection with his future. The official announcement of his move was only made on July 21, nine days after the German Grand Prix.
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One thing is absolutely certain for Quartararo regardless of his manufacturer change: “It will certainly be the case that I will face difficulties in the next chapter of my career as well. That is why I want to push myself to the limit to learn, to find out everything that can make me a better rider.”
“Because I am convinced that I can still learn a lot as a rider. And that will also be the case in the second half of this season. I do not expect to perform better in the second half of the season, but just trying by achieving results like this [on Sachsenring Sunday], that is what matters to me,” said the still Yamaha rider.
When asked during his media round on Sachsenring Sunday whether he expected any technical updates from Yamaha for the rest of the 2026 season, Quartararo just shook his head silently. But what he did say was the following: “Even though I knew I would not stay with Yamaha, I naturally still expected something from them that would allow an improvement.”
“I am just looking for a better feeling, both for myself and for the brand. But I am aware that they are now fully focused on the 850 project. That is why I do not expect anything from their side. I do not even ask. I just try to maximize what is available,” said Quartararo.
Silverstone: Bitter look at 2025, cautious look at 2026
The second half of the 2026 MotoGP calendar begins this weekend (August 8/9) with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Last year, when the race was exceptionally held at the end of May in Silverstone, Quartararo sensationally put his Yamaha on pole in qualifying. In the Sunday race, he led for 11 laps
On that May 25, 2025, Quartararo was already allowed to dream of his first win for himself and Yamaha after three years of drought. But then there was an extremely annoying technical defect that forced him to retire and shed bitter tears. Looking ahead to this year’s Silverstone weekend, the unlucky rider of last year sets his expectations low.
“I think the best approach to Silverstone is to do nothing different than last year. Back then, I was the polesitter and in the lead. We all know what happened then. This year, we do not have the potential for such a position. So it will of course be different, but I will do my best to be fast,” said Quartararo.
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