Quartararo has been the subject of much speculation heading into the final year of his contract with Yamaha, with the French rider having repeatedly expressed his frustration about the limited progress on the M1 compared to what European rivals Ducati, KTM and Aprilia have managed.
During pre-season testing in Malaysia, Quartararo admitted he has held “initial talks” with other teams for 2025 and beyond, with the majority of the seats on the grid becoming available next year.
While stressing there is no time limit on when he would like to have certainty about where he will be racing next year, the 24-year-old said he would first like to see the impact of the changes Yamaha has made to its engineering staff before penning a new contract.
“There is no deadline, we’ve not had not proper talks with Yamaha,” he said on Thursday in Qatar.
“So I think I will need a bit of time. The project, the mentality of the team, how it's going with these new engineers. At the moment I can say they are making steps, like I have said in the previous answer. But I think we have to listen to everyone.”
Yamaha went on a hiring spree over the winter, with new technical director Max Bartolini and aerodynamic chief Marco Nicotra being two key signings it has made from rival brands in order to close the gap to the front.
Source: Autosport