Quartararo revives F1 test ambition after Mercedes deal fell through in 2022

Fabio Quartararo has reaffirmed his desire to test a Formula 1 car after a private outing with Mercedes that was arranged following his 2021 MotoGP title with Yamaha quietly collapsed. The 27-year-old Frenchman reignited the conversation last weekend during a visit to the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

“Yeah, of course. We had a deal, but we never really did it,” Quartararo said when asked whether an F1 test could still happen. “But I went to the simulator, I was not so bad, so it’s something that I want to do in life, and we will organise something.”

The original plan had taken shape at the end of 2022, a year after Quartararo claimed his maiden world championship. The commercial logic was compelling at the time: Mercedes and Yamaha shared two major sponsors in Monster Energy and Petronas, and there was already a high-profile precedent in the 2019 ride swap between Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi. Despite those foundations, the test never took place.

Quartararo did, however, make it as far as Mercedes’ factory in Brackley, where he completed 60 laps of Silverstone in the team’s simulator. He came away encouraged by the experience, revealing he finished just 2.2 seconds off a benchmark set by then-Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas. “I was 2.2 seconds from Bottas. So, it was not so bad,” he said.

His trip to Barcelona last weekend offered a broader perspective on how the two championships compare. Quartararo noted that F1’s paddock felt markedly more exclusive and less frenetic than the MotoGP environment he is used to. “Formula 1’s budget is not the same as MotoGP, but it’s much more exclusive,” he said. “Much, much less people. So, I was talking with Lando [Norris] in the middle of the paddock, so it was pretty nice.”

When pressed on which atmosphere he preferred, Quartararo was diplomatic but candid. “As a rider, for me there [in F1] because you are more chill and you are not in a rush with the scooter,” he said. “But I think that it’s two different worlds and I’m also enjoying here [in MotoGP].”

No timeline or team has been confirmed for a future test, but Quartararo’s comments suggest the ambition remains firmly intact.