Marquez will take Honda's interests into account while finalising MotoGP future

Marquez’s existing deal with Honda covers the 2024 season, but in recent weeks has he become heavily linked to a shock switch to Gresini to ride a year-old Ducati amid ongoing difficulties with the RC213V in 2023.

Following a difficult test at Misano earlier this month where the 2024 Honda prototype failed to perform as per his expectations, Marquez openly said he has three options at his disposal, without naming what exactly there are.

Ducati sporting boss Paolo Ciabatti fuelled the Gresini rumour on Saturday at the Indian Grand Prix when the stated in a TV interview that the way is open for Marquez to join the Ducati satellite squad next year.

Responding to comments from Ciabatti, Marquez said that doesn’t want to share his thought process as he finalises his plans for next year, but made it clear that he will take into account how his decision could impact others - including Honda.

“Obviously, I heard about those comments,” he said following the Indian GP sprint race on Saturday.

“But nobody is inside my head. I said already at the Misano test that only one, two, three people around me know what I’m thinking.

“So, I’m very clever and I Know what I need and I know what I want. I’m looking for the best for everybody, not only for me.”

Asked to elaborate on what he meant when he said 'everybody', Marquez replied: “Of course, we are a team and when you are a team you are not alone. And you need to think not only about you.

“You need to think about everybody, about Honda, about what we did, where we are, where we are going to arrive. It’s inside my head what I’m thinking, but this big important decision, you cannot make it from one day to the other. It’s a process.”

He added: “With Honda HRC, we have been working a lot since Mugello. In Mugello already we had a very nice meeting – important, but nice.

“In Austria again, important but nice. So, we are trying to build the project, to find the best solution for the project and the future, for Honda’s future, for my future, to try to be better. This is the main target.”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Srinivasa Krishnan

Marquez arguably enjoyed his best showing of the season at the Buddh International Circuit on Saturday, finishing third in the sprint behind Pramac’s Jorge Martin and the factory Ducati of Francesco Bagnaia to score his first podium since the Portugal sprint in March.

It followed both Marquez and Repsol Honda team-mate Joan Mir securing a spot on the second row of the grid, having also shown strong pace in practice.

Marquez admitted that the Turn 1 collision between VR46 duo Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini helped him equal his best finish of the season, but he also explained that he had to push like he was taking part in qualifying in order to keep the KTM of Brad Binder at bay.

“Yeah, it’s true that it was a good race,” he said. “It’s true that also I took profit, or I was in a good position, after the first corner because by Marini’s fault Bezzecchi was out [of podium contention] and two riders that were faster than me went out [wide], and I knew Binder was starting from behind.

“And then I saw the opportunity, and it’s true that the last five laps I took a massive risk. I was riding like qualifying practice, pushing the front a lot.

“When I finished the race, it was a very big chance to crash but I said ‘ok, it doesn’t matter because if you have the podium there…’

“It was a bit like Le Mans, and there it’s more difficult to control yourself. But it was a good today, tomorrow will be more difficult.

“But here in this race track, not only me – Joan is riding in a good way. So it’s important, and it’s even more important for me because with this harder rear casing, I struggle a lot with my riding style.

“And here I’m able to change a bit my riding style to ride not in my way, trying to be very smooth, just some slides, to take profit.”

Mir failed to finish the race after suffering a crash early at Turn 3, having dropped behind Marquez to fourth by that point.