Marco Bezzecchi
Marco Melandri increasingly suspects that Marc Marquez will retire at the end of the 2026 season if he wins another world championship. That would deny fans the much-anticipated match-up with Pedro Acosta at Ducati.
Marquez was expected to be the first rider to sign a contract extension, but instead, it was Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia who moved first. Still recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered at last year’s Indonesian GP, he doesn’t want to make any firm decision until he reaches 100% fitness.
While the move hasn’t been made official, Ducati are widely expected to sign Acosta for 2027 as a replacement for Francesco Bagnaia. That would pit Marquez against arguably the most exciting talent in motorcycle racing.
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Marc Marquez ‘doesn’t want to risk losing’ to Pedro Acosta
Melandri recently said that Marquez is no longer the ‘fastest’ rider in MotoGP, and speaking on the ‘Chiacchiere da box‘ podcast, he expressed further concern over his ‘physical management’.
He has seen the Ducati rider become ‘less instinctive’ on the motorcycle and is putting the delay in his contract talks down to thoughts of retirement. Marquez can overtake Valentino Rossi if he wins his eighth premier-class title this year.
The Spaniard has never lost to a teammate during his MotoGP career and Melandri suspects he could avoid a match-up with Acosta to keep that record intact.
“Marquez is in a lot of trouble,” the five-time MotoGP winner said. “You can tell by the way he rides. He rides much more composed, much more thoughtful, less instinctive.
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“He always comes back to that issue, he says that the biggest limitation is physical management.
“He hasn’t renewed his contract for next year, so in my opinion, he’s really thinking about what he’ll do in 2026.
“I keep thinking that, if he wins the world championship, he will stop at the end of the year. He would have won one more than Rossi.
“If he’s not at 100%, he finds Acosta next door, he doesn’t want to risk losing to a teammate.”
Marquez is still expected to sign a new Ducati deal, though it could be a one-plus-one contract rather than a two-year extension. With only one round out of 22 complete, there is little cause for alarm at this stage.
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Marquez became the oldest champion of the MotoGP era in 2025 at the age of 32. Rossi previously held the record, having won his last title at the age of 30.
Marquez remains the favourite for a record-extending crown this year, but a new contract would take him into his mid-30s. Melandri says he could start to decline by that point.
“No one over 30 has ever won in MotoGP,” he said. “He was the only one, let’s say, in the last 20 years to win in MotoGP at over 30.
“On a motorbike, you age quicker than in a car. 35 is already a really advanced age.”
Marquez is one of six riders on the grid over 30, along with VR46’s Franco Morbidelli, KTM’s Brad Binder, Tech3’s Maverick Vinales, LCR’s Johann Zarco and Pramac’s Jack Miller.
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