Nadia Padovani says Alex Marquez was ‘losing his way’ as Marc Marquez’s Gresini teammate

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Alex Marquez was ‘losing his way’ as he tried to copy his brother, Marc Marquez, as his Gresini teammate, team boss Nadia Padovani has shared.

After a torrid time with Honda, Alex Marquez was finding his feet in MotoGP after switching to Ducati bikes with Gresini. But in 2024, he would face an almighty challenge: his brother on the other side of the garage.

Marc Marquez joined the team after ending his incredible spell at Honda, searching for the fastest bike on the grid. Helped by his brother, he made the switch to Ducati machinery and immediately got back into the groove.

The Ant of Cervera left his brother behind at Gresini, finishing third in the championship in 2024, while Alex Marquez managed eighth. It was his best finish at that point, but he was struggling as he tried to copy his teammate.

Alex Marquez says ‘it’s a pain’ to share the grid with Marc Marquez, as he has been under pressure to live up to his brother’s achievements. As teammates at Gresini, the 30-year-old realised that he had to go his own path.

Alex Marquez realised he had to stop ‘imitating’ Marc Marquez at Gresini

Gresini boss Padovani recalled the brothers as teammates via Mig Babol. She remembered how Alex Marquez was lost as he tried to imitate Marc, until he realised that he had to work things out his own way.

“Having both brothers on board has certainly been very important for the team,” said Padovani. “Yes, the team has grown because Marc is an incredible professional, and he’s been that way right from day one.

“When we did the tests in Valencia in ’23 when he joined us, that’s when we saw him in action as a rider with us. When he came into the pits, he started talking about what he’d felt and what he hadn’t felt. I mean, you can tell when someone is very professional, very perceptive and gives you incredible feedback.

“And it was very important to have him in the pit with us for Alex, also because it’s clear that Alex, despite being his brother, felt the pressure from Marc.

Can Alex Marquez fight Marc Marquez for the 2026 MotoGP title?

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“Of course, he felt that at a certain point he was almost losing his way because he was trying to imitate, that is, he wanted the things his brother [had] that didn’t suit him.

“So Alex stopped for a moment, and said, ‘You have to do this for yourself; you have to set up the bike according to your riding style.’ And from then on, he started instead to follow him, how can I put it?

“To see what Marc was saying, to listen to him, and from there he started learning too, and instead of imitating him, he found his own way.”

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

Is Alex Marquez now getting the better of Marc Marquez in 2026?

This new approach seemed to help Alex Marquez as Marc Marquez moved to the factory Ducati team in 2025. He suddenly found himself with a package that could win races, and that is exactly what he did, grabbing three across the season.

Alex admits he ‘wasn’t prepared’ to fight Marc for the title last year. He finished P2 behind his brother, marking his best finish to date in MotoGP, and the first time two brothers have finished first and second in the championship.

In 2026, the Gresini rider is looking to continue building, and after a rocky start, he is starting to get somewhere. Alex Marquez won the Spanish Grand Prix, while his brother has been struggling with injury setbacks from his 2025 crash at Mandalika.

Alex was surprised by Marc’s data at Jerez as he was slower on the left-hand corners. It is still early days, but the younger brother might have found something with the GP26 to get the better of his older sibling, who is clearly struggling with his fitness.