Alex Rins has said that his struggles with Yamaha's performance are not related to the injury from Mugello last year.

Recently, both Rins and Fabio Quartararo have been vocal about their frustration with the M1's lack of grip. At the Japanese Grand Prix, both riders faced difficulties. Quartararo finished twelfth, trailing race winner Francesco Bagnaia by 32 seconds and losing a position to Johann Zarco on the final lap due to a fuel problem. This was Quartararo’s second fuel-related issue in three weeks.

Rins had an even tougher time at the Japanese Grand Prix, finishing second to last, just ahead of Yamaha’s test rider, Remy Gardner. Typically known for his humor and talkative nature, Rins was far from pleased with his performance.

Rins still walks with a noticeable limp due to the ankle injury he sustained at Mugello last year, which caused him to miss 12 races. This season, after another crash at Assen, he had to sit out races in Germany and Britain. His best result since joining Yamaha from Honda has been a ninth-place finish at Aragon. Despite this, Rins insists his leg injury is not affecting his riding.

Rins said, "People are jumping to the wrong conclusions. If my left leg were like my right, my results would be exactly the same. On the bike, it doesn’t impact me at all."

Yamaha is currently undergoing a period of transition, aiming to climb back to the top under new technical director Max Bartolini, who joined Yamaha this year. The manufacturer is also working on a new V4 engine, which they hope to test next season.

“It’s clear we won’t have the V4 engine for the final races,” Rins said. “If we’re lucky, it might debut mid-next year, but we need solutions sooner.”

He added, "We’re at a critical point. It’s not that we’re not working hard, it’s that we’re not getting results. My heart rate doesn’t drop below 190 beats per minute in a race, and that’s just to finish last, 40 seconds behind the leader. This can’t continue."

At Misano, Quartararo managed to finish seventh, sparking some hope for Yamaha. But Rins believes this was largely due to the amount of track time Yamaha had at Misano, rather than a genuine improvement in the bike. Two tests and two Grands Prix at the same circuit allowed them to better understand the rear grip issues there, but they continue to struggle with these issues at other tracks.