Last weekend Bagnaia produced one of his best MotoGP race wins to date as he held off Marquez late on in a spectacular battle to take Spanish Grand Prix victory.
While Bagnaia has charged to back-to-back MotoGP world titles in 2022 and 2023, having stepped up to the factory Ducati squad in 2021, Marquez had suffered from a series of career-threatening injuries, the decline of Honda’s competitiveness and having to make the jump to satellite squad Gresini Ducati in 2024.
But having been in podium contention at the opening three rounds, and fighting for victory in the fourth event at Jerez, Marquez feels his adaptation to Ducati is complete, while he is already in the picture for a factory Ducati promotion for 2025.
Speaking at the post-Spanish GP test at Jerez on Monday about the possibility of having Marquez as his future team-mate, Bagnaia said: “I don’t know. Marc comes from 12 years in the Honda team and I’m sure he can contribute something to an official team like Ducati, but at the moment we are extremely competitive.
“We are attentive to every detail, we are at a very high level, so Marquez would adapt well to the situation.”
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Marquez said earlier this week that a factory Ducati ride was not his only option for 2025, revealing other manufacturers had already started talks with him.
“The important thing is that I have it clear and I don’t just have one option,” he said.
Heading into the 2024 season, Bagnaia signed a new two-year contract at Ducati, keeping him at the factory squad until at least the end of the 2026 campaign, while team-mate Enea Bastianini’s current deal runs out at the end of this season.
Current MotoGP world championship leader Jorge Martin, who rides for Pramac on a factory-specification Ducati GP24, is in the running for the factory Ducati slot along with Marquez and Bastianini.
All three riders are out of contract at their respective teams at the end of this season.