The young star whose team-mate 'distorts reality'

Franco Morbidelli's rise to MotoGP frontrunner status has been one faced with many hardships, both on and off the track. An evidently talented prospect from a young age, inheriting a passion for motorcycles from his ex-racer father Livio, Morbidelli never had the funds to make it into the lower rungs of the grand prix ladder.

He was offered a development contract with the Pramac D'Antin Ducati team when he was just 11, but the deal collapsed and once more Morbidelli's career hopes stalled.

Still lacking in funds, Morbidelli moved into the World Superbike paddock in the European Superstock 600 class. The likelihood of reaching MotoGP from here was slim, but that didn't stop Morbidelli from impressing and quickly establishing himself as a frontrunner in the class, becoming champion in 2013.

From there he would find himself making his grand prix debut as a Gresini replacement in the Moto2 class that same year, before completing his first full season the following year with Italtrans, and impressing enough to secure a spot with the world championship-winning Marc VDS outfit for '16 - all of this happening with MotoGP icon Valentino Rossi in his corner.

In 2017 he eased to the Moto2 world championship, and stepped up to MotoGP with Marc VDS in '18. Struggling aboard the unwieldy Honda, the unshakeably positive Morbidelli kept his head down and did enough to secure works Yamaha machinery with the new Petronas Sepang Racing Team for this season.

But that big opportunity has brought a new problem - the man next to him in the garage.

Morbidelli's 10th place in the championship, Q2 appearances at every race so far bar one and haul of five top-five finishes is extremely respectable.

Yet his rookie team-mate Fabio Quartararo's performances have been so sensational, he has been branded the man with the best chance of toppling the seemingly invincible Marc Marquez in the future.

As Autosport sits down with the mature-beyond-his-years 24-year-old, Morbidelli is candid and level-headed when questioned about his sophomore MotoGP campaign.

"The emergence of Fabio completely distorts the perception of the reality" Franco Morbidelli

"The most positive aspect is that I have been back in the fight for the positions that count - front-row starts and top-five finishes - in a field that boasts the best riders in the world," he says.

"What we could improve on is the fact that we're not there every week. I feel good with the team and the bike but if we want to push on then we need to find something extra."

The switch to the user-friendly M1 hasn't been as easy or as fruitful as expected, but his plight has been skewed by the rise of Quartararo - something he is keen to point out, though he is also equally keen to note the onus is on him to improve.

"Of course," he replies when asked if four-time podium finisher Quartararo's performances have clouded the reality of Yamaha's current situation.

"The emergence of Fabio completely distorts the perception of the reality. His performances have changed my perspective and everybody else's too.

"That is the reality and we have to get used to it, it is down to us to improve.

"I don't just want to settle for what I think has been a good season - I want to keep looking for perfection. The rider achieving that right now is Quartararo.

"I need speed, and to achieve that I need to have more control over the bike, which will allow me to have the same feeling as Fabio."

That "control" over the bike Morbidelli talks about is the advantage that Quartararo and Maverick Vinales have had over him and Rossi this year, which allowed them to ride around the Yamaha's shortcomings with front grip they all suffered during the recent Misano race - where Quartararo fought Marc Marquez for victory, with Vinales third. But to find that "control", Morbidelli needs to find the right confidence on the M1.

"Confidence is the starting point - everything comes from there. The more you have, the more things you can find in other areas, such as corner speed, grip, and the other factors you need. There is a way to hit that level of confidence that we haven't found yet but we are trying things."

When asked if there is one particular area that confidence would benefit him, he adds: "It's not easy to explain, but yes. At Misano, for example, Valentino and I had the same problems with the front - we both lacked grip.

"But at the same time, I think Fabio and Maverick also suffered with the same grip issue yet they were able to manage it better and it affected them less, you could say. But that was because they had the bike more under control."

Quartararo's rise to the fore in MotoGP has been equal parts stunning and surprising, and he now has many believing the first true challenger to Marquez's dominance has arrived. Having the hottest property in the paddock alongside you and outshining you regularly has been enough to break the resolve of many a great rider in the past. But Morbidelli remains unfazed, as life has thrown up harder challenges for him.

"Much more serious things have happened to me in my life than having a fast team-mate," he remarks. "This is simply a situation that I have to turn into an opportunity to improve myself. It is a problem, but it is not a drama."

In January of 2013, Morbidelli's biggest supporter - his father Livio - committed suicide. At just 18, Franco's world was cruelly turned on its head. Yet, somehow, he soldiered on. The Italian Motorcycle Federation stepped in and offered its backing, which allowed him to carry on competing in the European STK600 series. He transformed that faith into a title, and it ultimately set him on the path to his Moto2 world championship and MotoGP.

"It was like Barcelona letting Messi go. As soon as I found out, I went after him" Franco Morbidelli on crew chief Ramon Forcada

It is this iron will and insatiable passion for bike racing that allowed him to stay resolute in his maiden MotoGP campaign at Marc VDS, as internal troubles started to bring the ceiling down around the team and eventually forced it to make the decision to back out of the premier class at the end of the season.

With results hard to come by on the Honda RC213V, Morbidelli still took the positives from the situation and used them to further his growth as a rider.

"Last year was tough, being my first in MotoGP. A year on the Honda taught me a lot, mainly to be very flexible. Maybe that also helps me to not worry too much about Fabio. If I had taken the opposite route - made my debut on a Yamaha and this year switched to Honda - it would have been much more difficult. The Yamaha is a very friendly bike."

During the 2018 season, Vinales's struggles in getting the M1 to work for him resulted in him parting ways with crew chief Ramon Forcada. The experienced Yamaha loyalist was instrumental in guiding Jorge Lorenzo to his three MotoGP world championships. Morbidelli made it his mission to get Forcada onside for this season.

Asked if Forcada was his only choice as crew chief, Morbidelli replies: "Yes, and it is very easy to understand why. Last year something very unusual happened, which was that a technician with the experience and track record of Ramon became available.

"We are talking about one of - if not the - best technicians ever in this discipline, a man with a CV that is packed with victories. He is also a fanatic of the sport. It was like Barcelona letting [Lionel] Messi go. As soon as I found out, I went after him."

Rossi has many impressive young talents under his mentorship, but the nine-time world champion has a particular affection for Morbidelli. He was the first VR46 Academy member to become a world champion, and was the first to make it into MotoGP.

Not that Rossi's scheme needed it, but it offered total vindication for the Academy. Rossi has joked on a number of occasions that he hopes Morbidelli isn't too fast yet. But this only goes to show how highly rated Morbidelli is by Rossi, and he is clearly eyeing him up as the spiritual heir to his throne come his inevitable retirement.

Now rivals on identical machinery in MotoGP, Morbidelli admits their on-track relationship has changed - but they remain as close as ever away from it.

"Away from the track it hasn't changed at all, but on track it has - for the simple reason that we are fighting more regularly with each other for the same position. Nowadays we talk more about our bike because we are both on the same one and experiencing similar feelings with it."

This year Yamaha altered its philosophy in supplying SRT with works-supported machinery. This kind of backing is new to Morbidelli, and though he hasn't had the standout results of his team-mate or the factory riders, he is no less a priority.

"I have no complaints," he replies when asked of Yamaha's support. "On the contrary, I am really happy with how I am treated. [MotoGP project leader Takahiro] Sumi is very focused on his work and very passionate about it. I have seen him on many occasions taking a close look at my bike or Fabio's, trying to come up with a way to improve it.

"That sort of thing doesn't usually happen a lot and it fills your heart, because you see the passion and the desire there, the will to push forward.

"The fact that the Yamahas have been up at the front recently is no coincidence. The factory is working hard, moving step by step - in their way - always forward and never backwards."

With all factory rider contracts coming to an end next year, the impending 'silly season' is set to be the most chaotic yet. Quartararo will undoubtedly be a major player, but Morbidelli has done more than enough to be an enticing prospect for a manufacturer.

His on-track performances have been solid and hint at greater things, and his approach to racing is attractive. Unsurprisingly, Morbidelli's focus is on simply improving himself, and he is even reticent to talk himself up as deserving a factory ride. It's easy to perceive that as a dull answer, but in the ultra-ego-driven world of motorcycle racing, Morbidelli is a refreshing character.

"I am focused on the present and I think if you do that you can concentrate your energy on the here and the now, which will have a positive effect on the future," he concludes.

"The only place I see myself is at the next race or the one after that. I feel good in this team, where I get virtually the same support as the factory riders. I have nothing to complain about.

"I just have to focus on my job, to try and do the best I can. Whether I deserve a factory bike or not in the future, we'll have to wait and see."