Marco Melandri fears for one MotoGP team with their riders ‘so in crisis’ ahead of 2025 season

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Marco Melandri has backed Yamaha to be the most improved MotoGP team in 2025, but he does not expect much from another outfit as both of their riders are ‘in crisis’.

Last year will live in the memory of Yamaha and their mechanics for some time after sealing the Japanese brand’s worst-ever finish in the MotoGP teams’ championship. Yamaha ended 2024 in eighth place with just 144 points whilst rivals Ducati secured the title on 884 points.

Their worst-ever finish also followed Yamaha’s previous worst result in the teams’ standings of seventh place with 196 points in 2023. Alex Rins struggling to match Fabio Quartararo in his first season for Yamaha played a key part in their plight with just 31 of the team’s points.

Marco Melandri fears for Honda as Joan Mir and Luca Marini are ‘in crisis’

Rins endured his career-worst MotoGP season after joining Yamaha as he struggled to get to grips with their YZR-M1 on which Quartararo scored 113 points. But Melandri feels Yamaha will make great progress in 2025 with Pramac becoming their de-facto second factory team.

He is not as confident about Honda making much progress, however, as Melandri fears Joan Mir and Luca Marini are both ‘in crisis’. Last season was a disaster for Honda after finishing it last in the teams’ standings with only 35 points and coming behind satellite team LCR on 86.

“I believe that the MotoGP team who will grow the most will be Yamaha,” Melandri outlined to Moto Sprint. “Fabio Quartararo is strong and doesn’t give up, and counting on two more M1s will count for a lot.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Yamaha from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy

“I don’t see Honda doing as well. The riders are so in crisis and behind, I fear it will take too long to get back on track.”

Mir got 21 of Honda’s 35 points in 2024 for his career-worst haul after seven Grand Prix plus one Sprint points-scoring finishes. Marini made the points in six Grand Prix, whilst LCR riders Johann Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami – now an official HRC test rider – got 55 and 31 points.

Luca Marini and Johann Zarco share Marco Melandri’s concerns for Honda in 2025

Melandri is not the only person worried for the Japanese brand, too, as Marini is concerned Honda will not catch Ducati before MotoGP introduces new regulations in 2027. He is happy with what progress Honda have made but they still ended last season a second off the pace.

Team manager Alberto Puig admits Mir still cannot match Honda’s bike and that he fears the 2020 MotoGP champion could start to lose motivation. The 2024 season was more than just a year to forget for Mir after he only scored 21 points and finished nine of the 20 Grand Prix.

Mir even crashed more often than any Honda rider in 2024 with 17 falls throughout last term on the RC213V. It might be another challenging season ahead for the Spaniard, too, as Zarco fears Honda’s 2025 bike could be worse than in 2024 after running a private test at Jerez.