Marc Marquez names the one big similarity between himself and Lewis Hamilton after Ducati move

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Ducati officially unveiled Marc Marquez as one of their 2025 factory riders on Monday. They became the fourth team to reveal their livery for the upcoming season after Trackhouse, Aprilia and Gresini.

Ducati’s launch was perhaps the most anticipated event of the MotoGP off-season. Aprilia have signed the reigning world champion in Jorge Martin, but Marquez possesses a ‘beastly’ status within the paddock.

He’s won six titles in the premier class, including a spectacular rookie triumph in 2015. No other rider has won more than two, while he’s scored more than double the race victories of nearest challenger Francesco Bagnaia (62 vs 29).

20 January, 2025, will go down as one of the most significant days in recent motorsport history. It marked Marquez’s official arrival at Ducati, and Lewis Hamilton’s first day at Ferrari.

It’s easy to cast Hamilton as the Marquez of Formula 1. He’s the most successful driver in the sport’s history with 105 race wins and seven championships.

Marquez is trying to match Valentino Rossi’s haul of seven premier-class titles this season, and is still two short of Giacomo Agostini. But both he and Hamilton are undeniably the most famous figures on the grid.

Marc Marquez feels his name carries similar ‘weight’ to Lewis Hamilton within MotoGP

In an interview with Marca, Marquez was asked whether he saw similarities between his Ducati move and Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari. On the surface, he joked that ‘everything is red’ in both cases.

But beyond that, he noted that their names ‘carry more weight’ in their respective sports. Even in the face of a talented young generation – Marquez namechecked Lando Norris and George Russell in F1 – they retain their unique clout.

Indeed, the Spaniard’s reputation may have been key as he saw off Martin in the battle to partner Bagnaia. Even fighting for the title wasn’t enough for the Pramac rider to overshadow Marquez.

However, the 31-year-old, the second-oldest rider on the grid behind LCR’s Johann Zarco, admits his reputation will count for little at the start of the season.

“What’s similar? Red. Everything is red,” Marquez said. “It’s true that Hamilton, also with the move to Ferrari, because Hamilton is Hamilton in Formula 1, is one of the, if not the most media-savvy, along with Fernando Alonso, now Verstappen.

“The youngsters arrive, Norris, Russell, but in the end those with experience, well, it seems that the name carries more weight, but then this doesn’t help you win more. So, well, we’ll see.

“We’ll try to have a great year, we’ll try to help the team above all, try to be up front and this, well, when you’re up front and there’s speed and everything is much nicer.”

Ducati chief has now made a ‘huge’ admission after unveiling Marc Marquez

Bagnaia will be cast in the role of Charles Leclerc this season. The Italian is a ‘Ducatista’, having entered the sport with satellite team Pramac in 2019 and then joined the factory team two years later.

Leclerc, meanwhile, has been part of the Ferrari driver academy since 2016, and their F1 team since 2019. He and Bagnaia should therefore have an inherent advantage over their new, legendary teammates.

Davide Barana says Ducati face a ‘huge responsibility’ this year as they field two world champions. They’re the only team on the grid with that luxury.

Marquez’s data at Gresini stunned Ducati staff, but he will be jumping forward two years in bike specification. The length of the adaptation period could well determine who wins this year’s title.