Fabio Quartararo expressed his thoughts on Michelin's hard rear tire and the technical issues encountered during the race after the Japanese Grand Prix. Due to excessive overheating and blistering issues experienced in Saturday's sprint race, it was emphasized that all drivers had to switch to hard tires, as soft tires were banned before the main race.
The Advantage of Hard Tires
Fabio Quartararo criticized themselves for not evaluating the hard tire, which provided the best performance early in the weekend: "> To be honest, not using hard tires would have been very foolish."
Quartararo stated that hard tires could provide an advantage on some corners: "> Especially in qualifying, hard rear tires could have been better than soft ones because we experienced instability on some corners; the problem was much less in hard tires, and we could accelerate a bit faster."
Difficulties During the Race
The driver mentioned some difficulties he experienced regarding fuel issues during the race: "> I experienced fuel problems from the seventh lap onwards. I could have gone much faster, but unfortunately, I had to be very careful with the throttle."
He also commented on throttle settings during corner transitions: "> When moving from the second corner to the third corner, I could open the throttle at 70 percent on both the rear straight and the main straight. Nevertheless, I am satisfied with my driving, and in my opinion, that is the most important thing."
Overall Assessment
Fabio Quartararo expressed satisfaction with his overall driving. He shared his thoughts on not choosing hard tires: "> However, it was crazy that no one chose hard tires and the best tire came at the end of the day."
Figures
- Fabio Quartararo is competing in 15th place with 66 points in the 2026 MotoGP season (Yamaha Factory Racing).
- Archive: Quartararo: Evaluating Yamaha's chance in Japan (October 1, 2026)
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Go to sourceCompiled by Şükrü Utku Poyraz
