VALENTINO Rossi has insisted that his MotoGP teammate Maverick Vinales has not changed anything for Yamaha, despite ending their winless drought at Phillip Island on Sunday.

Yamaha have struggled this season and fallen behind Ducati and Honda as they endured a 25-race wait for a win, which Vinales ended in commanding style at the Australian Grand Prix.

But seven-time champion Rossi, who finished sixth in the race, said the result only covers the cracks for his team and that it does not mean that a massive overhaul in the off-season is not needed.

“This is a good result for Maverick, and also for the whole team and for Yamaha, because it was so long that we did not win,” Rossi said. “But we have to keep working for next year.

“It’s certainly a big injection of confidence, but I do not think it changes much.”

Rossi moved to second at one point during the Phillip Island spectacle but fell back in the latter half of the race meaning he fell further behind in the race to finish runner-up to already champions Marc Marquez.

“It was a disappointing result, I had hoped to fight for the podium,” he added. “A quite negative result because I lost points in the championship to Dovizioso and also Maverick, who has recovered a lot of points.

“I think more than for second, the battle will be for third [in the points].”