Pedro Acosta says his MotoGP employer KTM has told him he was being "too negative" - amid a minor dispute with VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio over a joke Acosta had made.
Acosta, who has been generally underwhelmed by the performance of this year's KTM RC16 and has been a consistent fixture in the rumour mill, was filmed - and subsequently broadcast - by Sky Italy in front of the VR46 team backdrop at Assen, instructing someone out of shot to "take a picture!" in what was clearly a cheeky reference to the long-running speculation linking Acosta to Valentino Rossi's team.
Though he would be formidable on a satellite Ducati, it is not thought very likely that Acosta has any realistic mechanism of leaving KTM next year - but the joking was enough to prompt a strong rebuttal from both Di Giannantonio and KTM itself.
Di Giannantonio, on a two-year Ducati contract at VR46, told Italian media that Acosta was doing KTM a disservice with his actions and should focus on his own performance - in response to which Acosta suggested his rival should approach things "with a little more humour".
On KTM's side of things, its motorsport boss Pit Beirer said during the MotoGP.com broadcast when asked about Acosta's 'flirting' with VR46: "He's still a kid, and he wants the best motorcycle to perform. As long as our motorcycle isn't the best motorcycle out there, we have to live with the critics and also the flirting side of things.
"Maybe you need to be of a certain age to understand that the wife you have you should treat well and not always flirt with other ladies.
"That's not an issue for us, really."
But it felt relevant that, effectively unprompted, Beirer quickly turned to talking about Maverick Vinales, KTM's successful 2025 signing, and his contrasting approach.
"It's like, Maverick did such a great job for us because he criticised us on the right things, in the right moment, and we can only improve the bike if the rider tells us exactly what he needs.
"Honestly, we know that it's maybe not good enough. It's good, I think it's really good - we come to Mugello, this is Ducati land, you have Pecco Bagnaia, two-time MotoGP world champion, and Maverick finished the race five tenths behind him on Saturday.
"It's where you think 'is the bike that bad? I don't think so. It's competitive'."
Acosta had the upper hand over Vinales - who was suddenly finding the RC16 a handful to turn - on the opening day of running at the Sachsenring.
And he indicated that he was now making a conscious effort to be less critical of the bike - but made it clear his demands of KTM remained.
"At the end you cannot cry for something you don't have," said Acosta. "Now I'm waiting for the step from the factory, I'm waiting for the parts from the factory - and now it's the factory that has to make the step.
"It's true that they were telling me a lot that I was too negative-too negative-too negative. OK, now I change. OK, now it's their time to make a proper step, like I'm trying to do - to be more optimistic. Now it's their turn."
With Bajaj Auto's investment saving KTM from bankruptcy - and Bajaj's apparent confirmation that all the current agreements in MotoGP will be honoured, as well as some tentatively positive signs over a 2027 continuation - KTM should be under no pressure to lose Acosta in the short term.
But this latest episode adds to the impression that, when it comes to continuing the collaboration beyond the current contract, KTM is already playing catch-up - having missed the starting gun.
