Marquez: MotoGP must not become like F1 where car is more important than driver
Marc Marquez has warned MotoGP “needs to be careful” not to become like Formula 1, where he believes it’s become harder for drivers to make the difference over their cars.


In recent years MotoGP has seen greater development in aerodynamics and in ride height devices on bikes, which have led to debates on safety and on whether they add any value to the spectacle.
PLUS: Was MotoGP 2022 won by Bagnaia - or lost by Quartararo?
From 2023, front-positioned ride height devices have been outlawed – a move which Ducati felt was unsporting when it was agreed upon by the manufacturers.
Speaking in an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Autosport, six-time MotoGP world champion Marquez passed comment on the current competitive order of the series.
While doing so, Marquez revealed that he had raised concerns in MotoGP’s safety commission that the series is at risk of heading in a direction where riders are able to make less of a difference on bikes – likening it to what he sees is now the norm in F1.
“The guys at the top are always the fastest guys,” the Honda rider said when asked if the current leaders in MotoGP are genuine threats.
“It’s true that now, or by the years, every time the machine I feel is [becoming] more important than the rider.
“Still the rider is more important than the machine – or this is what I want to believe. But, every time you are depending more on what you have, because if you don’t have a [competitive] bike you can’t do anything.
“It’s not like Formula 1, which is another extreme, but we are going in that way, and we need to be careful.
“And I said already in some safety commissions that ‘guys, we need to be careful because in the end we need to keep it that the riders are more important than the bikes’.
“This is one thing, but with the actual bikes the fastest guys are on are the ones that are in the top; those are [Enea] Bastianini, Pecco [Bagnaia], [Fabio] Quartararo, Aleix [Espargaro] this year.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“And we will see if in the future we can fight with them.”
Marquez – who had a fourth major operation on the right arm he badly broke in 2020 earlier this year and missed six races in 2022 – explained that MotoGP bikes, with all of the latest developments, are becoming “less manual” which has led to a much closer field.
“The thing is now is everything is more equal, because the limit is the bike,” he added.
PLUS: Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
“It’s true that in the past between official bike and satellite bike, the difference was bigger.
“Now there’s no difference. The satellite teams have official bikes. So, they have the tools.
“But what happened, and you will understand immediately? Before I arrived in MotoGP, when you put fourth gear on a straight, you were not at full torque, because you were playing with the wheelie, with the rear brake, with the torque, with the body position.
“Now, you go out and already in second gear and third gear with the holeshot [device], with the aerodynamics, you have full torque and you are [tucked] in like [you are on] a Moto3 bike.
“So, the bikes are less manual. Before it was more manual, and you had to play with more things.
“So, for that reason everything is more equal now because if it’s more manual then you will do more mistakes and it’s more difficult to take profit of all the bike. If the limit is there [it’s easier].”
Autosport will have a UK exclusive interview with Marc Marquez about his recovery from injury, the difficulties Honda has faced in 2022 and what he wants for his future in the 22 December issue of the magazine. You can subscribe to the magazine here: https://www.autosportmedia.com/offer/article

Ducati proved MotoGP team order claims in 2022 were "bullshit"
KTM admits it "pushed too many great Moto2 riders to MotoGP too quickly"

Latest news
Daytona 24, Hour 3: Cadillac leads Acura and Porsche
The #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac leads the Acuras of Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing after three hours of action in the 61st Daytona 24 Hours.
Hughes "happy to feel a nudge" over the line from Evans after Diriyah FE energy shortage
McLaren Formula E driver Jake Hughes says he was "happy to feel a nudge" from Mitch Evans in the Diriyah E-Prix, which pushed him over the finish line for fifth.
Daytona 24, Hour 1: Acura leads, BMW in trouble early
Tom Blomqvist lead the opening hour of the Daytona 24 Hours aboard the Meyer Shank Racing Acura, as BMW became the first of the GTP manufacturers to hit trouble.
F1 champion Button "definitely interested" in NASCAR road course outings
The 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button says competing in NASCAR Cup races on road courses is something he is "definitely interested in".
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.