Luca Marini is ‘very happy’ with change he could only make after leaving Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team

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Luca Marini is the half-brother of Valentino Rossi, but he left VR46 ahead of the 2024 MotoGP season when a chance arose to join Honda, as Marc Marquez’s replacement.

Honda had to dip into the MotoGP rider market out of sequence with most riders’ contracts in November 2023 after Marquez elected to tear up his deal, and decided that Marini would be the Spaniard’s heir. Marini’s efforts also secured him a new one-year deal this September.

Marquez gave up “the highest salary” in MotoGP history to leave Honda, as he believed that a move away was necessary to prove to himself that he could still compete at the front after years of struggling following a career-threatening arm injury in the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix.

Marini had shown plenty of promise during his first three years in MotoGP with VR46 across the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons. But the Italian had not won a Grand Prix before he joined Honda, and he still remains without a race victory across his 94 entries in his MotoGP career.

Luca Marini has ‘matured a lot’ since he left the ‘family’ at VR46 to join Honda in 2024

Marini “often wondered if I had made a mistake” during his first year at Honda, having gone from fighting for podium finishes at VR46 to only scoring 14 points in 2024. The 28-year-old massively improved his results aboard the Honda RC213V during 2025 to secure 142 points.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Luca Marini from his net worth to half-brother

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One of the biggest changes that Marini believes he has made with Honda since his years at VR46 is by maturing “a lot”. The Urbino native also feels his situation with the Tokyo squad has played a big role in him maturing, having been a part of the “family” while with VR46.

“I’ve definitely matured a lot,” Marini told SPEEDWEEK. “At VR46, I was part of a family. The situation there was completely different, as you can imagine. Here, I’ve matured, and I’m very happy and satisfied with my progress. I hope I can take another step forward next year.”

Luca Marini will want to score his first podium with Honda in the 2026 MotoGP season

Marini could put his newfound maturity to great use in the 2026 MotoGP season, in what is also another big year for the Italian as he strives to earn a contract for the 2027 regulations cycle. Paddock whispers at the end of 2025 hinted that Honda have a strong bike for 2026.

Honda have not seen Marini finish higher than P5 in a Grand Prix since he joined them at the start of 2024. He achieved two P5 results in 2025, having finished 11.904s off the lead for P5 in the Hungarian GP and 9.129s off the lead for P5 in the Indonesian GP in rounds 14 and 18.

VR46 saw Marini score two podiums and two pole positions while riding a satellite Ducati for them. His last podium came at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, when the Italian earned P3 during the Lusail Sprint Race as well as during the main race when he was just 4.408s off the lead.