Desde o seu regresso à competição após a lesão, Márquez tem enfrentado dificuldades para alcançar os resultados esperados. Os rumores de insatisfação com a Honda têm circulado nos bastidores e poderiam ser um incentivo para uma mudança de equipa. A Gresini, com a sua história e estrutura sólida, poderia oferecer ao piloto um ambiente mais favorável para retomar o seu desempenho de topo.
One of the biggest obstacles to the realization of yesterday’s rumors may lie with Repsol. The oil company has been linked to Honda for decades and the contract is until the end of next year. Terminations with sponsors are more complicated processes than terminations with riders. However, we cannot know if the contract between Repsol and Honda is exclusive: other companies sponsor more than one team, even without being the main sponsors of all of them. On the other hand, Ducati supplies bikes to Gresini and works with Repsol’s rival – Shell. Could this partnership prevent a potential association of Repsol with Gresini or one of its riders? It’s a question that has no answer at this time. Gresini has the oil company Federal Oil as one of its sponsors, but it is nowhere near the size of Repsol or Shell.
Red Bull is also linked to Honda, but not only is it not the main sponsor, it also sponsors other riders and teams currently. It is even the main sponsor of KTM. Therefore, it does not seem to us that there would be any obstacle to the change of this brand to Gresini along with Márquez – who is one of the riders it sponsors directly.
Since arriving in MotoGP in 2013, Márquez has always been in the factory team of Honda with the latest equipment. At Gresini, he would have to settle for a satellite team and a less updated bike – Ducati can only provide factory bikes to a satellite team and that is Pramac. It may not be the most appealing context for a rider who wants to return to title contention as soon as possible. Pramac still has an officially open spot, which could be more logical for Márquez. However, Franco Morbidelli is rumored to be the favorite for the bike.
Although Ducati cannot fully influence the decisions of its satellite teams regarding riders, it has stated more than once that a rider like Márquez does not fit into its project and philosophy. The idea is to give opportunities to younger riders and develop them, a strategy that has been successful with riders like Enea Bastianini, Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martín, and Marco Bezzecchi.
If Márquez were to bring Red Bull and Repsol with him, paying a high salary might not be an insurmountable obstacle for Gresini. In fact, the arrival of #93 and sponsors of that caliber would be a plus for the team founded by Fausto Gresini – which would benefit greatly from media exposure and financial gains.
If there is a willingness and availability from Gresini to hire Márquez, the issue of other potential candidates for the position would be secondary: even with Franco Morbidelli available, currently there are few or no riders who are free and more desirable than Márquez. One of these could be Jack Miller, whose future at KTM may be in doubt with the need to make room for Pedro Acosta. The Australian has a contract, but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be a termination – especially because the results have been below expectations.
