Marc Marquez, leading the MotoGP championship, acknowledged ongoing difficulties at the British Grand Prix after finishing second in the sprint race on Saturday at Silverstone. Despite his strong form earlier in the season, Marquez admitted, “I am the problem,” as he struggled to keep pace with the eventual winner, Alex Marquez.
Unexpected Challenges Disrupt Marc Marquez’s Sprint Performance
Marc Marquez had won six successive sprint races in 2025, fueling expectations that he would continue to dominate at Silverstone. His Friday practice sessions also showed promise with competitive long-run pace. However, his qualifying performance faltered, marking the first time this year he failed to secure a front-row starting position.
During the 10-lap sprint, Marc Marquez lost the lead to his brother Alex on the second lap following a mistake at Village corner. From there, Alex extended his advantage, finishing 3.5 seconds ahead at the checkered flag. This result narrowed Marc’s points lead to 19 heading into Sunday’s main grand prix.
Marquez’s difficulties on Saturday were linked to his inability to find a suitable bike setup despite multiple adjustments. He was candid about his own role in the challenges faced rather than blaming the machine.
“Today was that kind of day that I started the race thinking about not losing too much, not gaining – just not losing – because I’m struggling,”
said Marc Marquez at Silverstone.
He elaborated on the persistent issues:
“I don’t know why. We changed the bike a lot during all the weekend, but you always start in one point, you start do things and then you come back to the same point. So, I was struggling.”
He further explained the source of his struggle, emphasizing the rider’s responsibility in such situations.
“When you are trying a lot of set-ups and you don’t feel comfortable, it means you are the problem; the bike is not the problem, because this is something that some riders misunderstand. When you try three, four different set-ups and the problems are still there, it means you are the problem, the bike is not the problem.”
Reflecting on adjustments needed, Marquez added,
“So, for tomorrow I need to work on my riding style.”
Through the day, Marquez struggled to extract performance from the soft rear tire, which contrasted with his confidence on the medium rear during Friday’s sessions — the likely choice for Sunday’s race. Despite this, he acknowledged that Alex’s speed remains a challenge.
“Will be interesting to understand where we are with the medium rear tyre because Friday with the medium I felt super good,”
he said.
“And since we put the soft on, it’s when we started to struggle. Today we ran the soft always, so I want to understand what we can do with the medium rear.”
He noted strategic tire considerations for the next day’s race:
“And then from that point, the front tomorrow, everybody needs to go with the medium because the soft didn’t finish the race, and wait.”
On Alex Marquez’s performance, Marc commented,
“But Alex is faster here. He was already the fastest here in 2023, but he had a mechanical problem, and again one more time this year he’s the fastest.”
He recalled their previous encounters:
“And last year this was one of the races he finished closer to me. So it means he is riding in a very good way.”
Physical Challenges at Silverstone Exacerbated by Past Injury
After Friday practice, Marquez noted that Alex Marquez showed superior speed compared to all factory Ducati riders through the high-speed Woodcote corner. During the first half of the sprint race, riding closely behind his brother, Marc was unable to match Alex’s pace through this section, where the time gap began to increase.
Marc Marquez rejected any suggestion that the GP24 bike Alex rides was superior, stressing that both brothers use the same machine despite Ducati management’s different stance. Instead, he attributed the difference in pace to his own difficulties, especially at Silverstone’s faster sweeping corners.
“We are riding with the GP24, so we are riding with exactly the same bike as Alex,”
Marquez said in response to questions from crash.net about Alex’s speed at Woodcote.
“So, the bike is not the problem. It’s true that the way he is riding in those corners is different and he’s taking a lot the profit of the tyre. And he’s doing a lot of metres. Together, that is my weak point, but I cannot improve there.”
He acknowledged the lasting effects of the 2020 arm injury on his riding abilities at this track.
“It was already my weak point a bit, but since my injury I struggle even more there on those long right corners to control everything. But I have other strong points, so let’s take profit from that.”
Outlook and Preparation for Sunday’s Grand Prix
Marc Marquez’s admission of personal responsibility coupled with his technical struggles paints a challenging picture heading into the main race. With Alex Marquez demonstrating strong form and apparent tactical mastery of specific corners, Marc must focus on refining his riding style and optimizing tire usage to maintain his championship lead.
As the British Grand Prix continues, much will depend on Marquez’s ability to adapt, overcome lingering physical limitations, and translate his race pace potential into Sunday’s longer contest. The outcome will be pivotal not only for his points tally but for momentum in a tightly contested MotoGP season.
