Dovizioso: If I'm not competitive, I won’t stay in MotoGP

It’s a question the 36-year-old Italian says he won’t entertain unless he can turn around his current struggles with the team’s Yamaha machinery.

The former Mugello winner for Ducati crossed the finish line in just 20th place on Sunday, 30-seconds behind Francesco Bagnaia and last of the Yamaha riders, marking Dovizioso’s fifth non-score of the season.

“I really wanted to do a good Mugello, to enjoy Mugello,” Dovizioso said. “That didn't happen in any practice and the race was very tough, very difficult.

“I didn't put the hard front tyre like the other Yamahas. I couldn't try it during practice, maybe it was a bit better, but in any case, from the first lap I didn't have the speed in the middle of the corner. I couldn't really play in the chicanes, so my speed wasn’t there. It was very, very bad.”

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Stop-and-go style doesn’t suit the Yamaha

Former triple title runner-up Dovizioso has been struggling to adapt his preferred stop-and-go style to the narrow performance window of the M1, a bike that only world champion Fabio Quartararo has been successful on so far this season.

“I think in Mugello it’s even more clear,” Dovizioso said. “Because I saw in the race Darryn [Binder] and Frankie [Morbidelli]. And they went faster in the middle of the corners.

“The way you have to be fast with Yamaha is entry and make the speed on the edge [of the tyre] because it’s the best moment for Yamaha to make the time. But when I'm trying to do that, I’m slow. I'm not good to do that.

“For example, for half of the race, I was behind Fernandez and I was pushing, pushing, pushing and I was slow. When I was overtook him I started to ride a bit more in my way. Stop and go. And I was able to be half-a-second faster until the last lap.

“But this is not the way to ride the Yamaha, and it's still not fast enough. So this is just another confirmation. The way you have to ride the Yamaha to be competitive and use the potential, is far from what I'm good to do.

“So if I'm trying to follow that way, it's even worse. That's why I become angry on the bike and I'm struggling and… [it] doesn't work.”

Earlier in the Mugello weekend, RNF announced that it would be switching from Yamaha to Aprilia machinery from 2023.

Dovizioso tested the now race-winning RS-GP last year, before his late-season comeback with Razlan Razali’s team, but insists it’s ‘stupid’ to think about next year given his current troubles.

“In this moment I don't see the reason why I will race. I mean, I don't like to be in this condition, in this situation,” Dovizioso said.

“I always say if I'm not competitive, I will be not in MotoGP. So at this moment I really don't think about this. It doesn't matter the manufacturer.”

While Sunday's runner-up Quartararo continues to lead the world championship standings, factory team-mate Franco Morbidelli is the next best Yamaha rider in 19th place. Dovizioso is 21st and rookie team-mate Binder 22nd.