Alex Marquez believes Francesco Bagnaia is “very close” to finding the breakthrough he needs, despite another difficult MotoGP weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
While Alex finished runner-up to brother Marc Marquez in the Sprint, Bagnaia was forced to retire with tyre issues. In the grand prix, Alex served a long lap penalty that dropped him to tenth, but Bagnaia could not capitalize, slipping from second to eighth. The Gresini rider ultimately extended his advantage over Bagnaia in the fight for runner-up in the standings to 55 points.
Reflecting on Bagnaia’s form, Alex compared it to his own past challenges with the GP23:
“He just needs that complete weekend or a win to make the click and believe in himself. He’s very close because his pace was strong all weekend. I still see him as a true champion and expect him to be there until the end.”
Meanwhile, Marc Marquez stretched his winning streak to 12 straight races with his first-ever victories at the Red Bull Ring, giving him a dominant 142-point championship lead.
“Marc is on another level right now. Compared to the start of the year, he’s stepped up again in riding style. They’ve got things under control and with updates, the advantage is theirs again,” Alex admitted.
Without his penalty, Alex estimated he could have finished fourth, while rookie teammate Fermin Aldeguer impressed with a second-place finish.
