The Spaniard, who at 21 years of age remains the youngest rider on the grid, has been pondering whether to stay at Suzuki, from which he has a good offer, or sign with Yamaha as Lorenzo's replacement and Valentino Rossi's teammate.

Few people can understand this scenario better than Davide Brivio, the man at the head of the Suzuki team, and someone who in the past was the man in charge of convincing Rossi to leave Honda and move to Yamaha.

In this interview with Motorsport.com, Brivio claims to be calm, because he has done everything that he could to try to convince Vinales that no one will treat him as well as his current team.

At the same time, some of the below answers suggest that the Italian is already resigned to losing the most coveted rider in the championship,

How do you try to convince Maverick to stay at Suzuki?

"That task began last summer when we explained our development programme for the bike. We knew that in the first three or four races 2016, Maverick would decide his future, so we had to take a step forward, and we have done that.

"The chassis was good already, but now the engine is more competitive and we have the standard electronics. The work is not done, there will be upgrades throughout the year, but it might be too late to convince him by then."

Have you warned him about what he could find with Valentino Rossi as a teammate?

"When I speak to him, I talk only about Suzuki. What it could mean to be alongside Vale is up to him. I explain to him what we can do together."

Thanks to your stint at Yamaha, you know better than anyone how hard it can be to share the garage with Rossi...

"I won't tell Maverick the situation that he could find at Yamaha, he has to figure that out himself. I speak to him about what we can offer to him, not about others.

"It's a question of style. He knows that if he stays we can work to improve the bike, accept his demands, he knows that he can be our number one."

There are people who say that Maverick has to decide if he wants to be, to use a basketball metaphor, Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen...

"We have mentioned that to him. If he stays at Suzuki and we win, the story will be beautiful because we started from scratch together. He arrived at Suzuki new to MotoGP, and we were also new as a team. From a sporting point of view it would be very inspiring.

"If we hire another rider and we win, it will also be beautiful but different. From a romantic point of view, it will not be the same.

"Maverick can become a legend if he wins with Suzuki, because at Yamaha everybody expects him to do it. In any case, that is up to him, and maybe he doesn't care at all. Maybe he only wants to win and that's it."

What have you told him in your arguments?

"History is full of examples. Right now everybody looks at the Premier League and Leicester. If Manchester United wins the Premier League, that's the normal thing, but if it's Leicester then it gives another meaning to the sport.

"I love this kind of thing, but it's Maverick who has to decide."

Do you think the decision is already taken?

"I don't think he has decided yet, although maybe in his heart he already knows what he's going to do."

If he decides to leave, do you think he will regret it?

"We all wish him the best, so if he leaves, I would want him to win. If he regrets it or not, only time will tell. If he wins five titles with Yamaha, he will think that he did the right thing. If he stays and he wins with Suzuki, he'd probably think the same.

"And if he stays and we don't win, the most likely thing is that he will think that he made a mistake."

How long will you wait for him?

"We haven't set a date, but we want to know as soon as possible. It will be between Le Mans and Mugello, because I think that Yamaha doesn't want to wait too long."

If you need to find a replacement, will you look only at the MotoGP field or will you also look at Moto2?

"I like to look at all the available options. We haven't made any offers yet because we are waiting for him, but we have talked to managers because a lot of them have shown interest."