"Mentality definitely changed" at Yamaha, "we are more open-minded"

Yamaha's improvement throughout the 2024 MotoGP season has continued in recent rounds, leaving Massimo Meregalli very pleased with the changes made.

Yamaha's approach has been different in the last couple of years as they took on a more European-minded mentality.

Ducati, Aprilia and KTM have all surpassed Yamaha and Honda, and as a result, the Japanese brands are now playing catch up.

But Yamaha appear to be on the right path, with their performances taking a step forward in recent rounds. 

Despite that, Meregalli admitted it's still be a tough start in 2024: "Definitely a tough first part of the season," he told MotoGP.com. 

"We are exploring as much as we can with the concessions. The concessions are giving us an extra job but I'm really proud of the staff and the riders because no one is complaining. 

"Every time we have been asked to organise tests. Unfortunately we were never supported by the weather because we had a lot of rain. In five planned days we only explored on one. 

"Luckily the last one went well and we were able to use what we evaluated in Valencia at Assen, one week later. 

"I think the approach we are having is very good. The mentality definitely changed. 

"We are not taking more risks but we are more open-minded and we are trying to speed up bringing updates. We know that we still have a lot of work in front of us."

Fabio Quartararo has again been Yamaha's best rider throughout this season, however, the margin to team-mate Alex Rins has been small on several occasions.

Aware of the improvements that still need to be made to catch the likes of Ducati in particular, Maregalli said: "We have different areas where we need to improve. The bike has become heavier for the riders to ride and the electronics need to improve. 

"Also, the chassis, we need to improve. The engine; the engineers are putting a lot of work in and I'm seeing them pushing and coming up with ideas and solutions. 

"But we are magicians. We are identifying all the areas that we need to improve, but to do that we need time, more resource."