Neil Hodgson expects Yamaha to still have a ‘back-to-back season’ with their V4 engine come the 2027 MotoGP campaign.
Prior to the 2026 season, Yamaha decided to eliminate the inline-four engines For the V4 engines to be moved back to the grid and tested at the front.
Furthermore, the team’s decision to make a change in 2026 is an attempt to understand the V4 engines ahead of next season.
However, it has been a tough start for the Japanese manufacturer, who have managed to score 14 points from the opening four races. By comparison, they had 42 at the same level in 2025.
As a result of their ongoing struggles, star rider Fabio Quattararo has signed for Honda for 2027. Yamaha snatching George Martin and Ai Ogura.
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Neil Hodgson fears Yamaha will be ‘still behind season’ under 2027 rules
On Friday, during FP1 before the French Grand Prix, TNT Sports analyst Hodgson said. Yamaha According to the 2027 rules, it could be one season behind the rest.
From next year, the engines used in MotoGP will be downsized from 1000cc to 850cc, reducing top speed but improving efficiency.
Hodgson said Yamaha could struggle despite next season being a level playing field.
Asked if it was impossible to know which manufacturer would be better in 2027, Hodgson said: “It just is, and I’m not going for Yamaha here.”
But where are they developing their V4 engine? I know it has a different capacity down to 850 for next year.
But you say that only Yamaha has one season left. Everything else, you say, is a level playing field.
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Read more: Fabio Quatararo says he is riding ‘for himself’ with four years to go as Yamaha breaks drought.
Massimo Meregalli says that Yamaha are on a ‘way they never imagined’
Amidst their ongoing struggles, Yamaha boss Massimo Meregalli has admitted he thought they would have an ‘easier’ season than the current one.
As reported Crash“We definitely knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Meregali said, “I thought it was going to be a little bit easier, I have to say.”
“Unfortunately, we’re probably facing an unexpected roadblock, which is slowing down the development process a bit.
But the team itself is always pushing as hard as we can. And I’d say the atmosphere is good. When there’s something new, it already brings positivity and it’s a plus.
“Since we started this season, we all knew – and we talked internally – that the first part will be demanding and difficult.
But we still believe we’ll start to see different results in the second quarter, so let’s say we’re just at the beginning and so far we’re where we thought we could be.
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