Quartararo was gifted special dispensation to even start the 2015 Moto3™ season as he was below the age minimum of 16; in just his second race, he finished second. Titles, plural, looked inevitable for a rider with a junior CV rivalling Marc Marquez's, but it was those comparisons and a spate of injuries that knocked his career off course. A Moto2™ win in Catalunya in 2018 set things right, and he fearlessly fought with Marquez as a MotoGP™ rookie in 2019.

A blistering start to 2020 saw Quartararo earn title favouritism, but he faded badly, learning a lesson about staying in the moment. Quartararo's time will surely come; the only question is when.