Spanish rider Alex Rins delivered a brutally honest assessment of Yamaha Motor Company’s struggles after admitting he felt “useless” on the bike during the United States Grand Prix, even questioning his own place in the paddock.
The difficult weekend at Circuit of the Americas highlighted the growing crisis within Yamaha as the Japanese manufacturer continues rebuilding its MotoGP project for the MotoGP World Championship season.
Yamaha is currently working on developing a new V4-powered prototype as part of its long-term rebuild, but the early stages of the 2026 campaign have been far from encouraging.
After three rounds of the season, the manufacturer sits on just nine points in the constructors’ standings, while their performance at the US Grand Prix painted an even bleaker picture.
All four Yamaha riders ended the race occupying the final four positions, underlining the depth of the team’s performance issues.
Rins endured a particularly difficult outing, qualifying last on the grid and finishing last in the race, crossing the line 38.701 seconds behind the winner and more than 10 seconds behind his teammate Fabio Quartararo.
Speaking after the race, the visibly frustrated Spaniard opened up about the technical problems that plagued his weekend in Texas.
“Seeing all four Yamahas at the back of the pack isn’t great,” Rins admitted.
“It wasn’t exactly a surprise, but I looked around and thought, ‘Wow, we’re all here?’”
He revealed that the bike repeatedly failed to respond when he opened the throttle exiting key corners at COTA.
“Up until lap eight, when I opened the throttle coming out of Turns 1 and 11, the bike wouldn’t react properly. Some laps it worked, others it didn’t.”
The problems became even more severe during qualifying sessions.
“In my second run in pre-qualifying the bike simply wasn’t working. I was running wide everywhere. I couldn’t turn, change direction or do anything. I felt useless on the bike.”
Rins admitted the experience left him questioning his own motivation.
“I asked myself, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ There are moments when I’m not enjoying myself, and I started wondering what we are doing.”
The crisis deepened earlier this year when 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo confirmed he would leave Yamaha to join Honda next season, further intensifying pressure on the manufacturer.
Quartararo recently told French media that Yamaha still does not fully understand how to solve the problems affecting the new M1 project, raising further concerns about the team’s direction.
Meanwhile, Yamaha racing boss Paolo Pavesio acknowledged during the Thai Grand Prix weekend that the manufacturer faces a “mountain to climb” to regain competitiveness.
With the season still in its early stages, Yamaha must quickly find solutions if they hope to restore their position among MotoGP’s leading manufacturers.
Credit Photo : Yamaha MotoGP
