Rival team boss took the shine off Marc Marquez’s Qatar Grand Prix with private revelation in MotoGP paddock

Add as preferred source on Google

Marc Marquez claimed his seventh win of the 2025 MotoGP season at the Qatar Grand Prix. He has taken the lead of the championship from brother Alex by 17 points.

Not many would have expected the Ducati rider to be so dominant at the Lusail International Circuit. Teammate Francesco Bagnaia was thought to have the upper hand coming into the weekend, having previously been strong at the track.

However, Bagnaia crashed in Q2, which left him 11th. Marquez took his fourth pole of the season and claimed the Sprint win on Saturday,

The Spaniard was again victorious on Sunday, but he did not have it so easy. Franco Morbidelli took the lead on the first corner as Marquez battled with the VR46 rider, brother Alex, Bagnaia and, shockingly, Maverick Vinales.

The Tech3 rider produced arguably the best performance of the season as he qualified P6 for the Qatar Grand Prix. Vinales demonstrated strong pace to take the lead at one stage, ultimately finishing second – his first podium since he won in Austin last season.

However, after stepping onto the podium, Vinales was handed a 16-second penalty for a tyre pressure infringement, sending him down to 14th. While Marquez will bask in his victory after passing his fellow countryman for the win, the Tech3 rider took the shine out of the win for how he was overtaken.

Herve Poncharal says Maverick Vinales let Marc Marquez pass to mitigate his tyre pressure issue

Neil Hodgson thinks KTM ‘expected’ Vinales not to fight in Qatar for the lead, hence why the mistake was made with his tyre pressure. The Spanaird was aware of his problem during the race and tried to get his RC16 within the limits.

A part of this was letting Marquez through to take the lead. Speaking on the Paddock Pass Podcast, Neill Morrison revealed his chat with Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal, who said Vinales made way for the Ducati rider at turn siz when many felt he made a mistake.

“I spoke to Herve Poncharal very briefly after the race, after the penalty was handed out as well and he insisted that the amount with which they fell under the parameters of what is correct was miniscule, really minuscule,” he said.

“So it was really very difficult for him to take. And he also said that when Maverick was first passed by Marc towards the end of the race, he said that Maverick let him by.

“I think he ran wide going into turn six and we thought it was a mistake. Herve said that Maverick was obviously getting some information on his dashboard to say: ‘Look, you’re dangerously close to the limits of this front tyre pressure.”

READ MORE: Everything to know about Maverick Vinales from career stats to net worth

How have people reacted to Maverick Vinales’ penalty at the Qatar Grand Prix?

Vinales’ penalty will be a huge gut punch. Qatar was the Spaniard’s first sign of performance since his move to KTM from Aprilia.

It was a surprise to see the 30-year-old as KTM’s top rider at Lusail – factory rider Pedro Acosta has proved to be the strongest over one lap this season.

Acosta thinks the rules should be changed when it comes to tyre pressure. MotoGP fans agree that Vinales’ penalty was ‘sickening’ as he was denied a mega result for Tech3.

Despite losing his second place, Vinales wants KTM to honour his contract and give him a podium bonus. He is hoping the manufacturer will pay out for his heroic performance.