Why Quartararo has evolved more than Yamaha on his road to the MotoGP title

The transformation carried out by Fabio Quartararo is as or more important than the improvement of his Yamaha to understand how that inconsistency that took him away from the title in 2020 has given way to the most infallible rider in the MotoGP World Championship in 2021.

This Sunday, at the Marco Simoncelli circuit, 'El Diablo' will have the chance to give France its first world champion in the premier class. Apart from multiple other combinations, Quartararo will clinch his first crown if he wins the race, or if he finishes second and Francesco Bagnaia does not cross the finish line first. The simple fact of being able to celebrate with two races to go before the championship closes in Valencia gives an idea of the superiority of the Yamaha rider, who has been at the top of the points table since the fifth round of the calendar at Le Mans.

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His numbers so far make him unquestionably the man of the year, especially if we take into account the transformation he undertook during the winter to be able to offer his best version. His performances have led him to accumulate five victories and 10 podiums, and to be the only competitor in the three categories capable of scoring points in all 15 events that have been held so far.

The brutal reliability shown is in stark contrast to last season, when he played an all-or-nothing game (his three wins were his only podiums) and finished virtually unhinged, a feeling borne out by the statistics: he scored just 19 points in the last six rounds. Despite riding for the satellite Sepang Racing Team (SRT), Quartararo started that season as one of the main candidates to win the world championship and finished eighth, just two points ahead of ninth-placed Miguel Oliveira. At the time, haste and expediency fuelled the diagnosis that pointed to the bike and the impact COVID had on the testing schedule as the main reasons for these ups and downs.

Especially as this explanation also satisfied Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi, who were riding the same prototype. Franco Morbidelli's good performances on the 2019 M1, on which he matched Quartararo's tally of victories and finished runner-up in the standings, acted as the perfect addition to the equation to make that argument. However, the transformation of the #20 is not just about increasing the performance of his bike.

"The 2021 bike and the 2020 bike are quite similar. You could sum it up by saying that the new bike is a little bit lighter, but not much more," someone coming out of the Yamaha workshop told Autosport.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

So how do you understand the metamorphosis of the #20? "The most obvious change has been made by Fabio. That instability that came over him last season also affected Valentino and Vinales. But they are keeping it with the 2021 M1; Quartararo is not. That basically shows that both the problem and its solution were not in the bike," adds the qualified voice.

"It was Fabio who, this year and thanks to that solidity, left Maverick without excuse to the extent that he ended up as he did - by moving to Aprilia. I am convinced that this Fabio would have been champion last year," adds the source, who prefers not to give his name.

Quartararo has never been shy about openly admitting that he has used a sports psychologist to try to correct certain reactions when they have prevented him from optimising his performance in certain circumstances. "It helps me to be calmer and more focused on my work; to have more method," he says whenever he is asked about the benefits. Working with a psychologist can have a direct positive effect on the performance of those who decide to see one. Acknowledging it publicly, as Quartararo did, multiplies those benefits.

"Until 2020, Fabio had never been in contention to be champion. Neither in Moto3 nor in Moto2. Now he has that experience, he has already been in the position to win a world championship and not achieve it. Now he has managed it very well," Marc Marquez

"Fabio has no problem admitting his fault when he is at fault," Diego Gubellini, technical manager on Quartararo's side of the garage, told Autosport.

"Accepting these things is very reinforcing. This phenomenon follows a pattern that, in strategic psychology, is called 'with the truth you will deceive them'. When you reveal that weakness, what you do is liberate yourself. That makes you strong and, in the eyes of others, it also makes you look strong", explains Pep Font, a sports psychologist at the Sant Cugat High Performance Centre (CAR), who has advised Jorge Lorenzo, Nani Roma and Marc Coma, among others, and who has been following the progress of Raul Fernandez for a few months now.

"Psychology plays a very important role in sporting performance. Basically, because the fact of having the ability to do something in particular, for example, riding a motorbike, does not mean that we are going to do it at the right time and in the right way. To do it when you want to do it you have to work at it, and that's what psychology is all about," added Font.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Quartararo's growth ahead of 2021 has been integral, and also in terms of the pressure that, according to Marc Márquez, took its toll on him last year. "Until 2020, Fabio had never been in contention to be champion. Neither in Moto3 nor in Moto2. Now he has that experience, he has already been in the position to win a world championship and not achieve it," the Honda rider told the writer of these lines.

"Now he has managed it very well," continues the Spaniard. Not only that, but the Frenchman has imposed his undisputed dominance without having a single run-in with any of his opponents, an element to be taken into account in an era of explosive clashes (Lorenzo-Rossi, Marquez-Rossi).

Hand in hand with the mental component comes the emotional aspect, which in the case of the world championship leader plays an equally transcendental role. In his closest environment within the framework of the grand prix are Thomas Maubant, his inseparable assistant, and Eric Mahe, his representative, who sees the leap in quality that his client has made as the result of a natural process. "It's the logical progression of a kid who is talented and highly motivated, and who is becoming more and more experienced and less and less nervous," says the agent.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Dorna