Jorge Lorenzo has been working closely with Maverick Vinales ahead of the 2026 season and has identified what he lacks to become a title threat.
When Maverick Vinales In the year Entering the MotoGP World Championship in 2015, he emerged as a star of the future, highlighted by his victory at Silverstone in 2016 with Suzuki.
During his time in the premier class, Vinales showed flashes of brilliance, winning ten races and finishing third in the championship twice. However, he never put together a convincing championship run.
The Spaniard hired the former world champion before the end of his 12th season in MotoGP. George LorenzoAs his performance coach hopes to raise the second year with him Tech3.
Having worked together since the end of the 2025 season, Lorenzo believes the 31-year-old has identified where he needs to improve to compete for the MotoGP title.
Maverick Vinales must improve his ‘mental aspect’ for 2026.
During the interview Duralavita podcast, the five-time world champion discusses what he believes will convey to the Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider ahead of the 2026 season.
Lorenzo said: “It was almost essential, I felt I had to pass on my 30 years of experience. I had worked with him when I was a test rider at Yamaha and I knew I could teach him a lot.”
“To me, Maverick reached the peak of his speed and ability. He just had to understand certain things: certain misconceptions, small technical details.
But above all, I would say that the mental aspect is only 70% mental and 30% technical.
KTM are lining up Maverick Vinales to replace Pedro Acosta in their factory team.
The 2026 MotoGP season could also be a crucial year for Vinales if he wants to secure a seat in the factory team in 2027.
After taking a gamble and moving away from the Aprilia factory team to join Tech3 in 2025, Vinales is now linked with the Red Bull KTM factory racing team. As a potential replacement for Pedro Acosta, if he decides to go to him Ducati.
Before the injury Following some impressive performances in 2025, Vinales caught the eye of KTM bosses and brought his experience with three different manufacturers to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team In the year 2027
In the year A successful campaign in 2026, alongside Lorenzo, would have earned Vinales a place in the Austrian manufacturer’s factory team when the new MotoGP rules came into effect the following year.
