What Yamaha's commitment to Alex Rins means for Miguel Oliveira and Jack Miller in MotoGP
As Paolo Pavesio moves to affirm Alex Rins’s spot in the Yamaha MotoGP factory team for 2026, things grow ever more tense for Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira
Yamaha managing director Paolo Pavesio has poured cold water on rumours that struggling MotoGP factory rider Alex Rins might be relieved of his duties for next season.
The comments, which came during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday, appear to kill any hope that Yamaha can find space for both Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira in 2026.
The two current Pramac riders are sweating over the one remaining 2026 seat at the satellite Yamaha team – and chances of one of them getting a spontaneous call-up to replace Rins at the factory squad look slim after Pavesio responded to the rumours.
“I don’t know where those rumours are coming from,” he said. “We have a contract and we are fully committed to helping Alex exploit his potential.”
Pavesio also admitted that a decision over which of the Pramac pair remains – initially slated for the start of the summer break – had been delayed deliberately.
Paolo Pavesio, Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
“To be honest, we want to give ourselves a bit more time. We are assessing the riders,” he explained.
“I understand that for the riders it might not be ideal, but this is an important decision. If we can have more time to be a bit more [informed], taking this not easy decision, we want to try to get it – and we are getting it.”
Not referring explicitly to Miller and Oliveira also allows for the possibility that Yamaha may choose to bring in a completely new rider to join Toprak Razgatlioglu at Pramac.
Both the factory team and Pramac endured a rough first day at the Austrian GP on Friday. None of the four riders made it directly into Saturday’s Q2, with the factory’s Fabio Quartararo leading the way with a grim 14th position in practice.
Miller (20th) was around a tenth of a second slower than Oliveira (19th) following an engine problem that interrupted his session. Rins edged the pair of them in 17th spot.
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