Alex Marquez has made an exceptional start to the 2025 MotoGP season, achieving second place behind his brother Marc Marquez in all four opening races. This marks a significant milestone in his career, as he continues to show impressive growth and consistency. Compared to the same point last season, where he had only accumulated 13 points on the GP23, Alex has already amassed 58 points this year with the upgraded GP24. The new bike has proven to be far more competitive than the satellite machinery both brothers rode while teammates at Gresini last season.
Although Marc has dominated the season by winning all four races and claiming both pole positions, it is Alex who has shown the most significant performance improvement. To measure the extent of his progress, a comparison was made between the average gap separating the brothers last year and their qualifying and race results this season, with Marc now representing the factory team. The analysis only considered races held under dry conditions where both brothers finished without crashing, and Marc’s 16-second tyre pressure penalty at Assen was excluded.
The data highlights a striking improvement in Alex’s performance. In 2024, he trailed Marc by an average of 7.804 seconds in Sprint races and 10.198 seconds in full races. This year, those gaps have dramatically narrowed to just 1.044 seconds and 1.547 seconds, respectively. The Buriram Sprint, the only direct comparison between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, reflects a similar trend. Last year, Marc finished 4.738 seconds ahead of Alex, but the margin reduced to just 1.185 seconds this season. In 2024, Alex managed to finish within 2.8 seconds of Marc in only one dry grand prix (Sachsenring, +0.530s). This season, however, he has consistently remained close behind, whether in Sprints or full-length races.
Several factors may explain why Alex Marquez has been able to close the gap on his brother. One theory suggests that Marc is pacing himself during races. With Alex emerging as his closest competitor, Marc may be managing his race pace more strategically—riding just hard enough to secure victory rather than pushing himself to the limit. However, Marc himself denies this suggestion, insisting that he is still racing at full intensity. After the Argentina race, where Alex led for much of the grand prix before being overtaken, Marc acknowledged how impressed he was by his brother’s speed and even considered settling for second place. “I’m impressed by the level of Alex. He was riding super smooth and super fast. At one point, I thought second place was enough, but with the used tyre, I started to catch him again and attacked,” Marc admitted.
Another possible explanation lies in the way each rider sets up their bike. According to Marc, Alex has adapted his GP24 for better cornering speed, while he himself focuses on optimizing the bike for hard braking zones, which he considers his greatest strength. In Argentina, this difference in approach became particularly clear. “Alex set up the bike more for corner speed and the flowing parts, while mine was adjusted for hard braking,” Marc explained. “Every lap, I kept thinking about turn six—it’s a left corner—and I couldn’t believe he was faster than me there. But he was.” This change in bike setup could be one of the primary reasons why Alex has been able to match Marc’s pace so closely this season.
A more uncomfortable explanation for Ducati could be that, despite the GP25 featuring the same engine, chassis, and aerodynamic package as the GP24, other recent updates to the factory bike may not be as effective. This theory is supported by comments from Marc’s factory teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, who has struggled to find the right balance with the GP25. Bagnaia recently admitted that he plans to revert to last year’s GP24 setup to improve his performance, particularly with the rear tyre. “It’s strange considering the bike is similar to last year,” Bagnaia said, hinting that the latest developments may not be delivering the expected advantages.
The upcoming race at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) will provide another opportunity to directly compare performance between the 2024 and 2025 seasons. This will help clarify whether Alex’s improvement is purely due to his personal growth and better bike setup, or if issues with the GP25 are allowing him to stay closer to Marc. Either way, Alex Marquez is proving that he is no longer just Marc’s younger brother—he is now a legitimate contender in the 2025 MotoGP championship.
