"It's not an easy bike," he said after riding it on a wet and windswept track on Friday in Portimao (southern Portugal).

However, it is more or less the one that brought him to the title last year with changes, but which did not affect his power which, according to him, remains insufficient to compete with the progress made since by the best.

As a result, he currently only occupies 5th place in the championship after four races 17 points behind the leader, the Italian Enea Bastianini (Ducati-Gresini).

"The problem is not the grip but the power", he lamented after the tests.

"If I'm asked twenty times, that will always be my answer because in Austin (at the Grand Prix of the Americas 15 days ago, editor's note), we lost half a second, only on the straights".

"Yamaha needs to be a lot more aggressive, they need to make bigger changes and it's not about grip, it's about power."

His insistence is not innocent as the French driver is currently negotiating the renewal of his contract with the Japanese team.

After learning his skills with the Yamaha-SRT satellite team, he joined the official team last year where he replaced legend Valentino Rossi and won the title.

"On certain tracks where you have to go into 1st or 2nd gear, I ask for more power from the bike and it doesn't happen", he regrets.

"All Yamaha riders want more power," he says, although experienced Italian Andrea Dovizioso, who rides for the RNF satellite team (ex-Petronas), believes the Yamaha also lacks grip.

"Good feeling"

"The problem is the power", still asserts Quartararo.

"What I miss in the race is the possibility of overtaking and as soon as someone overtakes me I can't keep in touch".

World champion Fabio Quartararo during free practice for the Portuguese Motorcycle GP in Portimao, April 22, 2022 PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA AFP

However, he remains confident for qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

"The position is not good but I had a good + feeling +", he underlines.

"I wanted to finish in the top ten but I couldn't and we were missing something."

"It's important to tell us that we're one second off 3rd and that we've lost half a second in three places where I need to improve, so we're not that far off."

But he still comes back to the power and the promises that Yamaha can make to him to provide it.

"They don't say anything special, which motivates me in any case, and I would like to see results from them. We have to take a step forward (...) and this year in any case, I don't see a lot of possibilities", he says as a warning to his team.

(Comments collected during a press briefing)

© 2022 AFP