Yamaha MotoGP boss Paolo Pavesio says he understands the frustrations being voiced by Pramac rider Jack Miller as the Japanese manufacturer continues to delay its decision on its final 2026 seat.
With Yamaha having already signed up World Superbike champion Toprak Razgatlioglu to join satellite team Pramac for next year, it means that at least one of the current Pramac line-up of Miller and Miguel Oliveira is set to depart the team next season.
However, the decision on which one of them will be axed - or indeed, on whether both of them might potentially be on the job market - has been delayed multiple times as Yamaha instead explores other potential rookie options, first in the shape of Diogo Moreira (who has been reported as having chosen Honda instead) and more recently current Moto2 championship leader Manu Gonzalez.
It seems that talks with Gonzalez has now further delayed Yamaha’s decision, something that left Miller visibly irate ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
"Your guess is as good as mine at the moment,” he said when asked about his future. “In terms of what their [Yamaha's] strategy is, what they plan on doing. But... I have options. And I'm going to move forwards on other options if it doesn't come quick."
The most prominent of those options is though to be a factory World Superbike ride with Honda, rumoured to be more lucrative than the more competitive alternative of a Ducati seat.
Miller said he wanted a decision "now" from Yamaha as "I've been more than patient enough. If you want me, you want me. If you don't, you don't. It's clear as that". And he answered in the affirmative to a question on whether he was being made to feel unwanted.
"Well, the more time it goes on, yes, I feel that way. Absolutely. The more names you hear coming onto the list.
“I am looking forward to developing- I was looking forward to developing the V4 and working with them closely, to try and help them.
“I feel like I have a lot of information to give, a lot of input to give, and can help in a project like that. But if they cannot see the value in that, then I understand and I will move on, do something different."
Speaking exclusively to The Race, Pavesio admitted that the cause of the delay right now - and Miller’s understandable frustrations as a result of it - is also related to the team’s strategic deliberations on whether to concentrate on rookie talent for 2026 or whether to retain experience at Pramac ahead of the likely introduction of the new V4 engine.
“You are well-prepared,” he admitted when asked if Yamaha was weighing up the rookie options against Miller and Oliveira. “It’s exactly what you are describing.
“We are in a very special year next year, where we will hopefully have a brand new bike with an engine configuration that our riders, the factory riders in the Monster team, don't have a lot of experience with. A rookie, of course not [either]."
Miller and Oliveira have both ridden V4 bikes extensively in their past MotoGP careers, whereas across works riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins they have just the one disrupted season on a V4 Honda that Rins completed in 2023.
“They [rookies] can maybe bring raw speed, and we have seen this happen, so it’s a mix of factors and a decision has to be taken," Pavesio continued. "It is on our shoulders, this is very clear. We are coming close.
“It’s true that we were targeting to have a quicker decision, but finally we want to have a wise decision. We are coming close, very close to it, and as soon as we are ready we will announce it.
“One thing I would like to say is that we have always been pretty open with our riders, the ones that are with us. I understand that everyone would like to have a quick reply. I understand all the dynamics, and we are just trying to do our best.”
In response to Miller's frustrations specifically, Pavesio said that there was an "open conversation" with the Australian on Thursday.
"I really like him as a person. I didn’t know him before. I understand the personal frustration, and I also heard the recording of the interviews. I think it was the fourth question in a row asking the exact same thing, and I also understand that you guys [journalists] have your job to do but sometimes you make them [riders] do another job, which is controlling their emotion a bit to the limit.
"I think we have a very good relationship personally, and as a manufacturer this is also proven by Jack joining the Suzuka [8 Hours] team and doing a very good job, which for Yamaha is something very special.
"He knows that he is in very serious consideration. He knows this."
One aspect of the 2026 line-up that Pavesio was able to be more concrete about is in dismissing a persistent rumour - the suggestion that the underperforming Rins might be cut from the 2026 roster or demoted to Pramac.
“The situation for us is pretty clear,” he insisted. “The situation is not easy from a performance perspective, I would say from a feeling perspective as well, but we have a contract, a commitment."
