Yamaha MotoGP: The V4—a well-considered but inevitable choice

It would seem that 2026 will be a transitional season for Yamaha in MotoGP. The revolutionary switch from an inline-four engine to a V4 takes time, especially with 2027 and the new 850cc regulations effectively around the corner. In reality, regardless of what happens a year from now, the Three Tuning Forks company would have designed and developed the V4 anyway, even in the event of a continuation of the 1000cc era.

The final decision by Yamaha’s leadership to move forward with developing a V4 engine was in fact made during 2023. Therefore, the 1000cc V4 powerplant would have raced anyway, regardless of the switch to 850cc displacement. For this very reason, the V4 will make its full-time debut this year after the three wild cards at the end of 2025 with Augusto Fernandez (Misano, Sepang, Valencia) and the initial tests carried out with the factory riders.

The V4 layout undeniably offers long-term advantages. For 2026 Yamaha will logically aim to be competitive, but the real revolution will come in 2027 with a bike conceptually and completely designed from scratch, leveraging the V4’s potential—both in engine terms and overall design, starting with packaging.

Racing with the V4 layout already in 2026, even at 1000cc, will be useful with 2027 in mind. Any issues encountered can be resolved for the 850cc era, considering the layout will be the same, avoiding the blind leap that a switch from inline-four to V4 would have entailed. Making the new M1 competitive will in any case take time—time not everyone has. First and foremost Fabio Quartararo, whose contract is expiring and who wants to be consistently back at the front right away, without having to wait for 2027. We will see how happens.