Marc Marquez admits Qatar MotoGP tyre choice a big mistake

Marquez and fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow were the only two riders set to use the hard front, before the race start was delayed by rain.

During the delay, uncertainty over track conditions and a warning from Michelin contributed to Marquez changing his mind and opting for the medium front.

The Spaniard featured among the frontrunners early on in the race, but eventually lost touch with the podium battle, going on to finish fourth - just ahead of team-mate Dani Pedrosa and the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro.

"The temperature was dropping, the humidity was coming higher - I was with the hard front tyre and after all these things I had some doubt," said Marquez.

"Then the Michelin guys say 'you are the only one with the hard, be careful, you can crash' - and then OK, I go to the medium... mistake.

"I remember now after the race that last year in Silverstone I did the same mistake, I go with the soft to be safe - and it was too soft.

"I think with the hard I was able to fight for the victory until the end, butt maybe also was able to crash. Because the hard in the end also gives less warning - maybe if I put on the hard, I'm more competitive but I'd crash."

Marquez said the main lesson from the race was that Honda needs to make more progress with its bike because its current deficiencies mean its cannot afford any strategy errors.

"We must work on the bike," he said. "If you have an easy bike, then it's easier to choose the correct decision.

"If you have a bike that you're on the limit [with], then you must choose correct.

"If you don't choose the perfect decision, then you already lose too much time. This was the biggest mistake."

LCR Honda rider Crutchlow similarly went from a hard front to a medium front right before the start and ended up crashing twice during the race.

The Briton insisted the switch to the medium compound was a wrong decision that was imposed on him, although he would not elaborate on who made the call.

"We knew that the medium tyre was not going to be possible on the front for us, it was way too soft and we sort of got forced into changing - because the race was later, they were concerned about the dew, blah-blah-blah," Crutchlow said.

"It was completely the wrong decision for me and Marc. That decision was really taken out of my hands, which doesn't usually happen to me and it's not really a correct thing.

"Marc got forced to change his basically as well - and I think that would have been the key for me and Marc to be strong in the race.

"Don't get me wrong, I still don't think the Honda was as competitive as the other manufacturers, but Marc, with his better front tyre, was able to compete."