Why Ducati faces its most complicated MotoGP contract situation with Marquez

After Marc Marquez’s show of strength in his first year with the factory Ducati team in MotoGP, the Italian manufacturer now faces the challenge of sitting down with him to negotiate a renewal that looks much more complex than his original signing.

The philosophy of the Bologna-based company has not only allowed it to link together the last four MotoGP titles, but also ensured that the best riders on the grid are willing to make major sacrifices to secure one of the six Desmosedici machines currently available.

Among them, the most revealing case was that of Marquez, who gave up the final year of his contract with Honda - and more than €20million tied to it - in order to race with Gresini in 2024, something he had to do for free, just to get access to the prototype he so desperately wanted.

The showdown he maintained with Jorge Martin for promotion to the factory team in 2025 represented the culmination of the plan the Catalan had orchestrated in his mind.

Marquez's signing with Ducati, announced right after last year’s Italian Grand Prix, was a walk in the park for the manufacturer of the red bikes, as the Spaniard arrived at the reference squad to share the garage with Francesco Bagnaia, who was the leader of the project on paper.

Although his contract figures remain unknown, Autosport interprets that his first base salary as an official Ducati rider was around €3m - a figure far below what one might imagine - and that it was compensated by very generous performance-related bonuses. The 11 victories he collected before the injury in Indonesia earned him more than €2m in result-based bonuses.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Toshifumi Kitamura / AFP via Getty Images

On top of that, an additional amount of around €2m was agreed for being crowned champion. It was a huge sum, in line with the clear superiority he displayed on track, and one that underlines him as the undisputed reference for the Borgo Panigal marque, and for the championship itself.

With Bagnaia tormented by existential doubts, Ducati now dances to Marquez’s rhythm, with his market value back to the level it was when he dominated dressed in Honda leathers. And that gives him a position of strength in the negotiations for his renewal with Ducati - one he did not have before.

Autosport understands that initial talks between the two parties took place before the start of the Asian tour; that is, before the title celebrations in Japan. It is reasonable to assume that there was another meeting afterwards, presumably in Valencia, during which the two parties continued moving toward a final agreement. It remains to be seen, in any case, what influence his misfortune with his battered right arm - which caused him to miss the final four races of the season - may have had on the process.

If Marquez is clear about his desire to remain at Ducati, at least until 2028, that intention is mutual. For the Italian manufacturer, retaining its new flagship rider is the main priority. As a result, the decision regarding his team-mate becomes secondary, especially when Bagnaia continues projecting doubts at every level.

The issue is that Ducati does not have the financial muscle that Honda or Yamaha does, and even less so at a time when exports to two key markets - the United States and China - are not at their best. Particularly damaging have been the recent tariff policies imposed by US president Donald Trump.

Adding to this is the fact that Audi, Ducati’s parent company, saw its sales drop by 11.8% in 2024 compared to 2023. This situation drove the Audi Group (itself a part of the larger Volkswagen Group) to impose budget containment measures for this year, which will remain active in 2026 - the moment when contracts for the next cycle (2027–2028) must be signed.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

With all this in mind, the scenario in the offices of Borgo Panigale is very different from what it was a year and a half ago, when Marquez accepted the conditions presented to him practically without objecting. If his gamble paid off and he managed to win again, the moment to push would arrive naturally. That moment has now come.

“Every piece has to be in its place, and it’s only fair that it be so. We will sit down to manage the situation in the best possible way,” Gigi Dall’Igna, Ducati’s general manager, told Autosport a few weeks ago.

No one can imagine that the newly-crowned world champion will not renew, although what will almost certainly happen is that his continuity will directly condition the identity of his team-mate. Bagnaia has already made clear what his goals are: “My intention, if I can, is to renew and retire at Ducati,” is what the Turin-born rider has repeatedly said during the last races of what has been his worst MotoGP season.

However, for that to happen, two factors must align - and both are question marks at this stage of the story. The first is that Bagnaia must recover and significantly improve his results. The second is that he must be willing to lower his financial demands. If he doesn’t, the line of riders waiting to take his bike stretches to the end of the paddock.