Crash.net's Top 10 MotoGP Riders of 2021: 1st - Fabio Quartararo
- Team: Monster Yamaha (factory)
- Bike: YZR-M1
- Wins: 5
- Podiums: 10
- Best Qualifying: 1st (x5)
- Fastest Lap: 5
- DNFs: 1
- Championship position: 1st
Pick almost any metric to judge Fabio Quartararo by during the 2021 MotoGP season and he comes out on top of all his main rivals: Most race wins, podiums, fastest laps and points, the least DNFs.
The only exception is pole positions, with 5 for Quartararo versus the 6 of title runner-up Francesco Bagnaia, but Quartararo gets the edge over the Italian for front rows with 14 vs 12.
And while Bagnaia was one of three Ducati riders in the championship top five, Quartararo trounced his fellow Yamaha riders with a Marc Marquez-level of dominance.
Team-mate Maverick Vinales won the opening race but had roughly half the points of Quartararo by the time he split from Yamaha in Austria. By season's end, all the other Yamaha riders combined had amassed just three podiums.
Quartararo's historic title (the first for a French rider in the premier-class) came after picking himself up from last season's dramatic downward spiral from first to eighth in the standings at Petronas.
It also necessitated overcoming points lost due to arm-pump problems in Jerez (resulting in surgery) and the 'wardrobe malfunction' with his leathers in Catalunya.
The final third of the season then saw the #20 fend off intense pressure from Bagnaia and Marc Marquez, the duo sharing the final six victories, while Quartararo kept a cool head to protect his title lead.
Quartararo's only DNF came at Portimao, after the title had been decided.
While team-mate Franco Morbidelli one of the few riders to already sign for 2023, Yamaha is under pressure to provide Quartararo with the horsepower he desires to battle Ducati and help secure a new deal with the Frenchman.
