Rossi not planning 'to say ciao' with Yamaha satellite team

Rossi, 41, already knows he has lost his seat at the elite outfit for next season with 20-year-old Frenchman Fabio Quartararo taking his ride.

However, the Italian legend has a seat waiting for him at satellite team Yamaha-SRT.

"I want to continue but only if I am strong," Rossi said in an interview on the sport's official motogp.com website.

"My plan was very clear. Change some things in the team and wait until the summer to see if I could be more competitive than last year," added Rossi, who finished a lowly seventh in the 2019 world championship.

However, the 2020 championship has yet to get off the ground due to the coronavirus which has left Rossi caught in no-man's land.

"Sadly, with this situation, I must decide without being able to race.

"It's suddenly more difficult, I have to think more to see if I still have as much strength and motivation."

He added: "I have a good opportunity with the Yamaha-SRT Petronas team which is at the top level as they showed last year with Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli."

The problem for Rossi is that he has not won a MotoGP race since 2018.

"Now I have to decide for myself if I have enough motivation to continue," he added.

"I don't want to go to Petronas just to do one last season and say 'ciao'. If I race, I will give 100% and, if I can be competitive, fight for the podium.

"I have two options - either Petronas or stop, so let's see."

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