Fabio Quartararo reveals what went wrong during Thai MotoGP

While Fabio Quartararo had a suitable qualifying at the 2025 Thai Grand Prix last weekend, his race pace let him down on the Sunday. In a discussion about his lack of performance following the race, he was keen to outline the difficulties surrounding his bike and its lack of traction.

The factory Yamaha rider qualified tenth and was able to finish a respectable sprint race. While he eventually lost his place to Pedro Acosta towards the end, Quartararo was happy with his performance. Unfortunately, he wasn't as happy with his machinery.

"That's what I had imagined, but the sensations themselves were not good," he admitted to GPOne. "The front tire pressure was too high, I couldn't push. From the halfway point on, I couldn't ride normally; I have had a lot of problems with these tires since the beginning of the weekend.

"It's a problem that has been going on since the tests: I can't find any speed or grip. I can't brake the bike, and at the back, it's even worse."

The worst was yet to come, however, as race day came and he slipped from tenth to fifteenth. 

“From the beginning we had the issue with the grip, that I was struggling quite a lot to… at the beginning I thought it was to warm up the tyre,” he told the press following Sunday's race.

“But at the end we checked. On the first lap I could not really push, I couldn’t lean the bike, the bike was just sliding.

“So, I lost a lot of positions and unfortunately I was not able to make a great race and a great pace. Was quite difficult one.”

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Yamaha began their 2025 optimistically, with their pre-season testing looking promising for the Japanese team. But the Frenchman wasn't happy from the beginning, admitting that he wasn't a fan of the front tyres Michelin expected the riders to use in Thailand. 

"It was a strange day for us," he said following the first day of testing. "For the first time in my career, I didn’t feel good with any compound for the front, so I struggled to ride and be fast.

"Hopefully, the track will improve tomorrow and allow me to ride as I like because, even though I tested many things today, I couldn't give it my all." 

At the Chang International Circuit, the rider chose the hard tyres for the front, but to no prevail. 

“Yeah, it [the soft front] collapses and already I was struggling with the hard, and the rear didn’t help us this race," he admitted. “Especially in this race the soft should have helped in the beginning, but it didn’t help.”

The Argentinian Grand Prix is next for the riders. Being a road course, it can get dirty, so rear grip is a priority. 

Quartararo confirmed this: “It’s going to be difficult for us. Everything with low grip at the moment is quite complicated, but let's see with different tyres also."

Michelin is returning to the standard rear casing for Argentina, which will allow a bit more traction.

"I think the casing will be same as normal and this will also help us," he ends.