Ducati ‘sources’ share the clear reason why they do not want Alex Marquez to partner Marc Marquez

Add as preferred source on Google

Ducati have some big decisions to make over the next 12 months, with Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia both due to be out of contract after the 2026 MotoGP season.

The Bologna Bullets reaped the rewards from welcoming Marquez to Borgo Panigale in 2025 to replace Enea Bastianini beside Bagnaia. But just as quickly as Ducati saw Marquez win the riders’ title for the first time since 2019, he can walk away after only signing a two-year deal.

Marquez dominated the 2025 MotoGP season after leaving Gresini to join the factory Ducati team, with the 32-year-old achieving 11 Grand Prix and 14 Sprint Race wins in 18 rounds. He also lifted the title with five rounds to spare, but suffered a season-ending injury in October.

Bagnaia produced a very different season to Marquez in 2025, which has now left the Italian with an uncertain future with Ducati. The 28-year-old only bagged fifth in the standings with 288 points, compared to Marquez’s 545, and only took two Grand Prix wins from 22 outings.

Ducati are unlikely to pair Alex and Marc Marquez in 2027 to keep ‘fierce’ competition

Now, Bagnaia faces taking a pay cut to stay at Ducati in 2027, with the Borgo Panigale squad prioritising a new contract for Marquez. The Spaniard is set to dictate how the MotoGP rider market develops throughout next term, with most of the grid also due to be out of contract.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Alex Marquez from net worth to career stats

Gresini star Alex Marquez is another rider set to be out of contract in 2026. The 29-year-old is only under contract to Gresini, which could open up the possibility of a move to Ducati for 2027 to partner his older brother, Marc Marquez. But Alex Marquez is not in Ducati’s plans.

According to Motorsport.com, Ducati ‘sources’ have suggested that while Alex Marquez will get a factory bike at Gresini in 2026, that is the only change they are planning. The Spaniard will continue to work with the same technical team that he had in 2025 while riding a GP24.

Ducati decided to give Alex Marquez a factory bike for 2026 as a reward for finishing second to Marc Marquez in the 2025 championship. Yet an all-Marquez line-up in 2027 ‘does not fit’ with Ducati’s philosophy, as they want to have ‘fierce’ competition between their two riders.

Alex Marquez rarely put up a genuine fight against Marc Marquez on track in 2025

Ducati only need to look back at how Alex Marquez dealt with his on-track battles with Marc Marquez over the 2025 MotoGP season to justify their reluctance to reunite the brothers for their 2027 line-up. Alex joined Marc at Honda in 2020, and they reunited at Gresini for 2024.

Marc Marquez loved having Alex Marquez as his ‘biggest rival’ in 2025, but the latter seldom offered the former a run for his money. Alex Marquez enraged MotoGP fans by not attacking Marc Marquez in the Assen Sprint, and showed more aggression against Bagnaia at Mugello.

Also, Marc Marquez offered Alex Marquez a “pact” about how they would battle each other in 2025, having realised early on that they would often be battling this term. Alex even told Marc at the start of the 2025 term that he found fighting against his brother to be “strange”.

The only time that Alex Marquez truly had the better of his brother came in Barcelona, after boasting a pace advantage over Marc Marquez to win the Catalan Grand Prix. He could have done the double in Montmelo, too, but the Spaniard crashed out from the lead of the Sprint.