Valentino Rossi knew the 'consequence' of being unab𒁃le to provide Yamaha with an immediate answer on his racing future would be an exit from the factory MotoGP team.

But after a difficultꩵ 2019, Rossi's biggest fear is committing to stay in the world championship, only to find he is u🦩ncompetitive.

The nine-time world champi🌠on will therefore wait until mid-2020 before deciding whether to retire or race on.

However, that timeline didn't suit Yamaha, which had to act quickly if it was to avoid losi𓆉ng either Maverick Vinales or rookie star Fabio Quartararo.

As such, the young Frenchman wi𒅌ll now🌃 replace Rossi alongside Vinales in 2021, but Yamaha will supporting Rossi at a satellite team should he chose to continue.

"In the second half of last year🐼 I struggled very much," Rossi said on the eve of 2020 testing at Sepang.

"I've raced for 25 years and I’m n𝔉ot young any more, it became very heavy. To stay at the top level you need a big, big effort. To continue you need to have the right motivation.

"For me the motivation comes from the result. If I can fight for podium and I can be competitive I have motivation. My target is to try to continue next year. But if resul༺ts aren’t what I expect, it becomes difficult.

"For this reason when🃏 I spoke to Yamaha I was not ready to decide… I don’t want to contin♒ue like this [in 2019]. If it’s like this, it’s better that I stop.

"Around half 🦩season, the summer break [I will decide]. Now we have to speak also more deeply. But now I have time. I don’t want to decide in one day. I want to decide when I feel 𒀰ready and I feel from the inside. I think it will be in the summer."

Signing Vinales and Quartararo in the face of competition from the likes of 🥀Ducati was a major coup, but Jarvis - who tempted Rossi from Honda in 2004 - admitted it had been a difficult discussion to have with🍷 the #46.

"In Januar🦩y this year the [rider] market was already getting hot. We had our young riders pushing us, looking for a sense of direction and decision," explained Yamaha Racing managing director༒ Lin Jarvis.

"In making that move we firstly consulted with Valentino to understand his direction and way of thinking about beyond 2020. He quite r🉐ightly said he w꧂anted to spend time to see the level of his performance before taking a decision.

"We were in a situation where we’d have lost some of our young talent. [so] 🍎we took an 'advanced booking' for 2021 and ‘22 with two of the youngest, most talented riders in our camp to make sure we could rely on them for the foll🎉owing two seasons.

"With Valentino the consequence of our me൲eting w♏as that if we needed to wait we would not prolong his career in the factory team. But if he stays on, we have assured him he will have the support of Yamaha Motor Company."

"From one side it was a difficult decision for me. Like Lin said, I knew that waiting had a consequen💝ce and the consequence is not to continue in the factory team," Rossi confirmed. "But fr🌺om the other side it was not difficult, because I don’t want to continue if I’m not competitive.

"For this reason, it’s like this. I asked Yamaha for the support and they say yes🐟 if I want to continue. My first target is to continue in 2021. We have fantastic [satellite] team which is the Petronas team. In the end it would not change a lot [to switch teams]."

Many of Rossi's mechanics have followed him from team♎-to-team since his 2000 debut in the premier-class, but it is not yet clear if they would make a move to Petronas.

"It depends on Quartararo. If he takes some⭕one from his team [to the factory team]. We still didn’t speak about this," Rossi said. "The important thing is Yamaha is happy if we contin🍨ue together and will give me a factory bike and the maximum support."

Rossi played down rumours that he could form his own VR46 Yamaha team next year and also quashed talk he might switc🐽h manufacturers.

"For me Petronas is the best option. The situation is very good. They have a good, young team so they can improve. They h🤪ave money. They are serious," he said.

"Especially for me it’s important to continue with M1. First of all to change manufac✅turers is not easy. It’s never easy, especially at my age and at this point of my c❀areer.

"The VR46 team with Yamaha? I laugh because I like the idea but we don’t have the money! This is a big problem! It’s better with𓃲 Petronas."

And what of the rider chosen to take his place at the Monster Yamaha team in 2021 an🧸d 2022?

"Like we spoke last year sometimes. I think that Yamaha make the right choice because Quartararo last year was impressive for everybody," Rossi said. "The people in the paddock knew that Quartararo could be competitive, but not like this. He’s a surprise more or less for everyone. He’s very young, very strong𒀰. I think it’s the right decision."

Current Petronas rider Quartararo may not have yet won a MotoGP race,🦂 "but you have to consider he finished second fi🥀ve times.

"Last year Marquez and Honda were another level. For this reason, Quartararo didn’t win. But there were some races like Valenc🍒ia or Thailand or Misano where he arrived very close and for a rookie that’s not easy."

It was in Thailand last year, when Quartararo battled Marquez down to the f♑inal corner, that Rossi kn𝓰ew his own future at the team was in doubt.

"I already think about this [situation] from October of last year," he said. "I reme🍰mber in Thailand because the performance of Quartararo changed the situation. If Yamaha didn’t have him, maybe we could also have more time…

"It was not a surprise [to be replaced by Quartararo]. I thought about this very deeply. But also I didn’t want to say ye༺s to keep my place in the factory team and after not be competitivꩲe. This is the worst thing. Especially for me.

"It’s my last year with the factory team but an🍒yway if I’m strong and I want to continue, we'll chan𒆙ge the colour of the bike [next year], but the rest not a lot."