Although the first two races of the season left Maverick Viñales disappointed following a winter marked by radical changes—both in mindset and training— the Spaniard still sees the glass as half full.
Putting aside all the hype surrounding his partnership with Lorenzo, Vinales is taking stock and reevaluating the direction he needs to take. If the path taken so far isn’t working, he needs to start from scratch and follow what actually seems to be producing results. The Spaniard will therefore debut the 2026 package in Austin, hoping that the results will meet expectations after a difficult start to the season.
"It’s better to have a bad weekend if it helps us keep growing," commented Viñales. "Last year I realized which path to follow, and to get out of this situation, we need calm, hard work, and steps in the right direction. This weekend, the bike felt better in certain conditions; I need to work on myself—the bike is what it is and won’t change."
What kind of race was it?
"I spent the race dodging stones; one even damaged the fairing. I remember something similar happened at Mandalika. Then they shortened the distance and told us five minutes beforehand, for sure for our safety. We put on the soft tyre, but that obviously changed our plans a bit. I tried throughout the race to maintain a good pace and close the lines, but I was at the limit with the front."
The solution?
"In Austin, I’ll be riding the full 2026 bike and starting from scratch with the one everyone else is using. The smartest thing to do is ride like the others to gather more data for improvement, but we also need to work on ourselves. I think this week had some positives in certain areas, even though there’s still a lot of work to do—both I and the bike need to improve; it’s a mix of both."
Will Lorenzo be there too? There’s a lot of talk about your relationship.
"No, he won’t be in Jerez. Right now, though, I’m not interested in rumours; I have other problems to worry about," he cut to the chase.
You mentioned positive aspects—what were they?
"I realized that with the soft tyre, the bike pushes a lot on the front, and this makes it difficult to change trajectory and then get good feedback. It’s a problem that also comes up in the time attack; I can’t be fast, perhaps because of the components I’m using, so now the smart choice is to go with the others."