Here's the thing about a career in the premier class: it can unravel faster than a loose tear-off on the straight. As Motorsport.com Italia reports, Maverick Vinales is spending every single night wrestling with his future, staring down the reality of not being on the 2027 MotoGP grid after a bruising contractual dispute with current employer KTM that left him feeling mistreated.
At 32 years old, the ten-time premier class winner is refusing to entertain the usual exits. A switch to the Superbike World Championship, which has caught other displaced riders, is simply not on his radar. Nor does he want a test rider role. Vinales made it clear to journalists at Mandalika, including those from Motorsport.com, that testing holds little appeal because his racing ambitions refuse to die.
I still have to think about it a lot. I have a lot of thoughts going through my head and I have to be convinced of what I do, because I don't want to do something and then not feel right about it.
"I have to think well about things, I don't know if I'm ready," Vinales told the media on Thursday in Mandalika. "Deep down, I haven't given up yet. I have to evaluate if I could do a thing like that (being a test rider). It would have its pros and cons."
Rumours out of Italy ahead of the Indonesian GP had linked the Spaniard with a test and reserve rider role at Ducati for next season, though that speculation was swiftly denied by the factory. Meanwhile, a paddock exit could risk closing doors permanently, but Vinales remains defiant. "I don't know, I'm not sure. I'm not ready to stop being a rider," he said.
His track time has been brutally interrupted. Following a long layoff from an injury sustained at the German Grand Prix over a year ago, Vinales only just returned to action last weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix, admitting genuine surprise that KTM called him back at all amidst speculation he might miss the remainder of the season. Having started just 23 of the 38 Grands Prix held since 2025, he feels surprisingly fresh and plans to harness that preserved energy to map out his next chapter.
"Obviously, my main priority is to race in MotoGP, not to test," Vinales said. "I still have to think about it a lot. I have a lot of thoughts going through my head and I have to be convinced of what I do, because I don't want to do something and then not feel right about it."
