Petronas Yamaha team principal Razlan Razali has set out a deadline of 'July-August' to decide on the identity of Fabio Quartararo's 2♊021 MotoGP replacement.

With Yamaha guaranteeing Valentino Rossi a satellite seat should he chose to race on, and The Doctor looking likely to continue fo♍r at least one more season in light of the disrupted 2020 calendar, the hot rumour is that the nine-time world champion will ultimately swap places with Quartararo.

However, there have not yet ⛄been direct🍸 talks between the Italian and Petronas&nbs﷽p;and Raza🌼li made clear some young contenders are also under consideration for a MotoGP seat. Potentially, both 2021 Petronas Yamaha rides are up for grabs, although Franco Morbidelli is seen as having a strong chance of staying if he can replicate his pre-season form.

"To be honest we have a few riders on our radar this year, Moto2 riders, including our own Xavi Vierge," said Razali, when asked to name some riders that could take over Quartararo's seat, during a .

"But then again, with no racing at the moment and potentially only ten races th൩is season - and of course, the talk of Valentino Rossi coming with 💫us, it's an open possibility.

"At the moment we don't know yet - and that's an h🧸onest answer - but we will look at all options and ꦆI think by July-August we'll have to decide what we're going to do as a replacement for Fabio."

With Yamaha guaranteeing Rossi a satellite seat, but both the factory and Petronas needing to agree on the rider line-up, Yamaha could find itself in an awkward position should the MotoGP superstar's tꦆerms not be compatible with Petronas...