Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira to keep sweating over 2026 Pramac Yamaha seat

Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira are being asked to wait longer before a final call is made on which of them will keep his Pramac Yamaha ride next season.

With Toprak Razgatlioglu having been confirmed in June as one of the satellite team’s 2026 riders, it has been clear for some time that at least one of Miller or Oliveira will have to find an alternative ride for next season.

Miller said shortly after the announcement that he was “not stressed” about what some have billed as a shoot-out between himself and his Portuguese team-mate. But almost two months later, ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, he admitted that he hoped for a call to be made soon.

The Australian said the expected date for a decision had been pushed back more than once: “First it was before the summer break, then it was after the summer break, and it’s slowly getting delayed a little more, so...

Jack Miller, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

“Why are we delaying it, I don’t know. But hopefully something comes out soon.

“[I’ve been] trying to make conversations, trying to make contact, trying to understand what my situation is at the moment. Still nothing on the table… just waiting. [I’ll play] the waiting game; hang around.”

Regarded as the more likely of the two to retain his ride, Miller reaffirmed his enthusiasm for the project.

“I want to be here, I want to be with Yamaha. I love this project, I love working with Yamaha and I enjoy the whole environment. I love my crew chief. I’m very, very happy where I am. I feel like I can go further, improve and do more.

“They’re very happy with me, and I’ve made the call plenty of times to ask if there’s anything more I can do, or differently, or whatever. I will be trying to do what I can. Like I said, it’s just a waiting game and I’m trying to be… I’m being as patient as possible in the circumstances, for sure.

“Obviously, other opportunities are starting to close up,” he noted.

Oliveira, meanwhile, said he hadn’t actively been pursuing updates during the summer break and would continue to focus on his own riding.

“We didn’t talk,” said the man who won the 2020 Styrian GP at the same Spielberg circuit hosting this weekend’s action. “Hopefully we’ll know soon. When we know something, you [the press] will also know.

Miguel Oliveira, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

“The target seems to be [waiting] another two races for them to come up with a decision.

“My main target is to continue doing the best I can for me, firstly, and then try to bring some good results in these couple of races. And put myself in the best possible position to be competitive.

“My actual focus is not so much, as you might think, on staying or not staying [with the team]. I’m focusing on my weakest point with the bike, which is the braking phase. I was progressing quite well, but I hit a wall in Sachsenring and Brno.

“Braking is the area where I lose time and I want to get that fixed. Performance and results will come as a consequence of that.”