Quartararo’s engine fails amid a weekend of testing

Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha engine failed before halfway in the Sprint while he was running 16th and outside the points. He felt power dropping on the straight, similar to a Thailand problem, before the M1 stopped in heavy smoke. It is the new Yamaha V4’s first such failure during a 2026 race weekend after pre-season incidents.

The failure did not erase a likely points finish: Quartararo had qualified 17th, more than one second off the fastest Q1 time, and also lost time to a rear ride-height-device problem. Yamaha’s Rank D concessions allow ten engines per rider, but Quartararo does not know how many healthy units remain.

Aragón was also being used to compare a new chassis and several parts. Yamaha must now secure an engine and decide which updates are worth retaining for Sunday.