Fabio Quartararo said he is in for "the toughest job of his career" after his crash at the Australian Grand Prix handed the MotoGP title race lead to Francesco Bagnaia.

Quartararo conceded the lead in the championship when he crashed out on Turn 2 of the 11th lap on Sunday, while trying to make up for an early mistake that had seen him fall to the back of the race.

The Frenchman has now failed to collect points in three of his last four races, and Bagnaia's third-placed finish at the Phillip Island Circuit propelled him 14 points ahead of Quartararo in the standings.

Indeed, Quartararo was fortunate the Ducati rider gave up his lead to Alex Rins and Marc Marquez on the final lap.

Quartararo's chances of retaining his title might well be slipping away, but the 23-year-old will give it his all.

"Now we need to turn the page and we only have one job and it's trying to win," Quartararo, who held Bagnaia off last season to win his maiden MotoGP title, told reporters.

"It's going to be the toughest job of my career, but I'm ready to fight for it."

Quartararo gave up the title lead at a similarly late stage in 2020, ultimately finishing eighth, though he does not believe this season is comparable to two years ago.

"[In] 2020 [it] was mentally and technically, and now I don't feel mentally like I'm over-thinking too much or not. So mentally I don't feel it's [like] 2020," he added.

"I'm just trying to do my best and I'm overriding a little bit too much and the risk of having a mistake is really close. So that's what happened."

Rins, meanwhile, celebrated victory in what will be his final race in Australia with Suzuki, who are withdrawing from MotoGP at the end of the season.

He said: "I'm super happy to finish in the first position. First of all it will be the last time with the Suzuki here at the Island.

"I'm blessed that I got the first position for this and then for all the people that were supporting me during all the season, during all the bad moments. The team really deserves [this win] and all the staff in Hamamatsu.

"We really deserve it and in many races we know our weak point which is the qualifying.

"We struggled but in some races we had unbelievable pace and were forced to finish in fifth position, sixth position for this reason. The victory was quite nice. It's sad that Suzuki is leaving but let's leave with the victory."

Suzuki have confirmed they will depart MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season after reaching an early release agreement with promoters Dorna.

The Japanese manufacturer previously indicated their intent to seek a withdrawal from the sport, citing economic difficulties behind their decision.

 Suzuki had been contracted to MotoGP through to 2026, having previously returned to the premier class in 2015 afterling quitting in 2011.

They have now been handed an early termination following negotiations, president Toshihiro Suzuki confirmed.

The company will also exit the World Endurance Championship - which includes the Le Mans 24 Hour race - at the end of the current campaign.

Suzuki last won the MotoGP title in 2020, their first for 20 decades, with Spanish rider Joan Mir crowned champion.

They will support both Mir and his team-mate Alex Rins - eighth and ninth in the standings respectively until the end of the season, with the pair currently eighth and ninth in the standings re

Suzuki has confirmed plans to pull out of MotoGP at the end of the season, with the manufacturer citing economic factors for its decision.

The Japanese marque had been recently mooted to quit the series, and that was made official in a statement on Thursday that said talks were taking place with MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports.

The Suzuki statement read: "Suzuki Motor Corporation is in discussions with Dorna regarding the possibility of ending Suzuki's participation in MotoGP at the end of 2022.

"Unfortunately, the current economic situation and the need to concentrate its effort on the big changes that the automotive world is facing in these years, are forcing Suzuki to drastically decrease racing-related costs and to use all its economical and human resources in developing new technologies.

"We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our Suzuki Ecstar team, to all those who have supported Suzuki's motorcycle racing activities for many years and to all Suzuki fans who have given us their enthusiastic support."

Dorna Sports reacted to initial reports of Suzuki considering pulling out of the championship by saying terms of its agreement with MotoGP meant the manufacturer could not make such a decision unilaterally.

"However, should Suzuki depart following an agreement between both parties, Dorna will decide on the ideal number of riders and teams racing in the MotoGP class from 2023," the Dorna Sports statement read. "Dorna continues to receive high levels of interest from a number of both official factories and Independent Teams looking to join the MotoGP grid."

Thursday's confirmation of talks with Dorna appears to have brought Suzuki's exit a significant step closer.

Suzuki Ecstar won the team title in 2020, when Spanish rider Joan Mir triumphed in the riders' championship. Mir and the team both finished third in 2021.

In an apparent response to the announcement, Mir posted on social media a picture of his 2020 celebration with team staff, with the message: "You are the best! Always in my heart.".

Francesco Bagnaia's late-season rally did not come in time to push Fabio Quartararo all the way for the 2021 MotoGP title, but the Ducati rider's outstanding form has shown him how to compete next year.

Quartararo clinched the championship at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix when second-placed Bagnaia dramatically crashed out.

On Sunday, at the Algarve Grand Prix, Bagnaia – starting from pole for a fifth consecutive race – won while Quartararo crashed.

If not for his untimely previous retirement, the Italian would be still within touching distance of the season leader heading into the final round.

"If I had the win in Misano, today was perfect for me," Bagnaia told a news conference. "But it's not like this."

Bagnaia's result clinched second and also delivered the constructors' championship for Ducati, who now lead the teams' standings, too.

But attention can start to turn towards next year, when Bagnaia will hope to be competitive from the outset.

"I think we didn't lose the championship in Misano," he said. "I lost a lot of points before and I started to be so competitive after some races.

"For sure, it's a really great base for next year. Also we have worked so hard and so well with our bike, so for next year we have a really great base."

Of course, Bagnaia would have to cope with significant pressure if he were to lead the title race from the outset, and he acknowledged riding this week without the championship on the line was an easier experience.

"I didn't change it compared to Misano," he explained. "But in Misano, I was trying to [keep] open the championship but I was knowing that it was very difficult to win it.

"Today, if I had the win in Misano, for sure Quartararo was not crashing. I was racing without the pressure of the championship, so I just did the same thing."

Quartararo took the title from Joan Mir, who is also keen to respond in 2022 after a difficult championship defence.

He finished second on Sunday for the second time this year but has not won a single race and said Suzuki would have to work on a "better base".

For now, Mir was simply delighted to be back in contention on race day, saying: "Honestly, I'm so happy, I'm especially happy for this podium.

"It's not for the result, it's more for the weekend that we did. It was unbelievable. I felt so good from the first moment and I was able to be competitive from FP1.

"Then, as Pecco said, when you feel good with the bike and the base is good, everything came easily. What I needed was a weekend like this one."

Alpine have appointed Davide Brivio, the former boss of MotoGP team Suzuki Ecstar, as their racing director.

Renault announced the departure of team principal Cyril Abiteboul on Monday ahead of their rebrand to Alpine for the 2021 Formula One campaign, and now they have added new blood.

Brivio was linked to F1 after quitting his post with Suzuki Ecstar, who won the team and rider championships in last year's MotoGP season.

An Alpine statement read: "Davide Brivio joins Alpine F1 Team as racing director.

"We are delighted to confirm Davide Brivio will strengthen our team ahead of the 2021 Formula One season. His specific role and responsibilities will be announced in the coming weeks.

"Davide will report to the Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi.

"Davide joins Alpine F1 Team with a wealth of experience and success following more than 20 years in the MotoGP world championship.

"We look forward to welcoming Davide as we start the next stage of our Formula One journey."

Alpine's driver line-up is made up of Frenchman Esteban Ocon and former two-time champion Fernando Alonso.