Overview
- Quartararo said he would stop helping Yamaha after the Aragon weekend because the team denied him access to a Pirelli tyre test, a dispute that became public in late August.
- Yamaha publicly pushed back, with team figures questioning Quartararo’s objectivity and saying development would be handled by selected riders and testers.
- Both sides held a clear-the-air meeting that Quartararo said resolved the public row and restored ‘pretty normal’ relations as of Thursday.
- Despite the thaw, Yamaha has not reversed its decision and will keep Quartararo out of the contested Pirelli test while it uses designated riders for tyre and 850cc work.
- The dispute matters because early access to prototype Pirelli tyres guides setup for the planned 850cc V4 and missing that test could affect Yamaha’s 2027 development timeline and Quartararo’s final months before he joins Honda.