Raul Fernandez free to win, free of contracts for the 2027 MotoGP season

The MotoGP Sprint at Mugello symbolizes freedom for Raul Fernandez. With both a positive and negative connotation in his case. Positive, considering the freedom to win granted to him by Aprilia as well, following the clarifying briefing of recent days. Negative, in that he is also free from a contractual standpoint for next year. Without a seat, yet a winner. A contradiction even within his own career path.

Until his arrival in MotoGP, Raul Fernandez was an out-and-out winner, no ifs or buts. In the promotional and development classes of the Iberian Peninsula he won everything there was to win, reaching the world championship with a world title in his pocket (Junior Moto3 in 2018: many forget it, but among the World Champions on the grid there’s him too...), then confirming his value in Moto3 and Moto2. In the premier class he only began to deliver last year with the magical win at Phillip Island, which he followed up this year with a fine podium at Buriram and, now, victory in the Mugello Sprint.

Along this journey in which he’s seen and experienced it all, what has remained unchanged about RF25 is his hunger and aggression. At times excessive, as in the case of the third restart at Montmeló, with that over-the-top lunge into turn 5 on Jorge Martin that caused damage to both and prompted serious reflection at Aprilia. Raul is contracted to and paid by Trackhouse Racing: true, very true, but he still races with an RS-GP26. For this reason, in recent days the parent company wisely gathered all four of its MotoGP riders to prevent counterproductive episodes like those in Barcelona. You are all free to win, but there must be mutual respect and no, elbows-out contact and dive-bomb passes are no longer tolerable or tolerated. Said and done: Raul won the Mugello Sprint with full merit and right, holding his own against Jorge Martin without any excess, without any madness. With the freedom to win.

The anomaly of a Raul Fernandez finally starring in MotoGP lies in the fact that he still doesn’t have a contract in hand for next year. In the most fast-tracked rider market ever, the Spaniard still needs to find a seat. Which, legitimately, raises several bipartisan questions: there must be a reason he hasn’t appeared on the radar of the factory teams, but it’s equally true that someone like him cannot fail to deserve an excellent ride for next year. Strangely enough, speaking of Fernandez, until a few seasons ago everyone was tearing their clothes—and even contracts with hefty penalties—just to secure him.

In the past, someone paid a very steep penalty to move him from Aspar— the team that had taken him to the Junior Moto3 World title and a positive debut in the world series— to Red Bull KTM Ajo. He then arrived in MotoGP against his will due to contractual obligations: he would have preferred another year in Moto2 or, alternatively, to accept Yamaha’s offer. It wasn’t possible, so he had to race with KTM Tech 3, later freeing himself from the contract at the end of the year to embrace the Aprilia RNF project, paying a crazy penalty to Mattighofen. It was an all-in for his career that, years later, has borne fruit. Finding himself free to win, but also free—this time with a negative connotation—of contracts.