Does Alex Marquez have a "mental block" when fighting brother Marc in MotoGP?

On the evidence of the first three MotoGP weekends in 2025, it’s easy to conclude that Alex Marquez has a mental barrier to conquer when it comes to beating his brother Marc.

After all, Marc is a six-time MotoGP world champion, while Alex is still waiting patiently for his first race win in the top category.

At this stage of the season, however, Alex Marquez has established himself as the most consistent rider of 2025. While Alex hasn’t won any races, he hasn’t missed the podium or made a single mistake. But he is yet to defeat his brother in a direct battle. On the surface, that suggests that the dominant role Marc is playing as Ducati’s factory rider is a tough burden for Alex, who naturally showers Marc with praise whenever asked about him.

Last Thursday, ahead of the hectic Americas Grand Prix, one of the questions directed at Alex revolved around the mental battle he might have with his brother. “I'm the younger one,” he replied. “Since I was born, I’ve been used to suffering those mental games.”

Three days after that half-joking, half-serious response, the younger Marquez left Austin as leader of the points standings, one point ahead of Marc, who crashed mid-race on Sunday while leading the pack.

Despite Alex having reached a new level in terms of performance and consistency aboard the Gresini Ducati in 2025, he can still come across as submissive at times. In Texas, for example, he said he would happily take finishing second at every race this year.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Steve Wobser - Getty Images

That remark was made in the context of him potentially winning the world championship points battle on the basis of consistency, so it would be wrong to read a lack of hunger into those words. His move to the top of the table on Sunday showed exactly how much potential constant points-scoring might have.

Nonetheless, the fact that Alex is the younger brother and keeps trailing Marc means there’s always plenty for amateur psychologists to get their teeth into. But Marc’s assessment of where Alex is at mentally provides some valuable insights.

There’s no hero worship at play between the Marquez brothers, according to Marc’s revelations in Texas. In fact, he describes his brother as the rival who idolises him the least because he has seen his most vulnerable side.

When questioned about a potential mental block Alex might have when competing for position against his lifelong benchmark both on and off the track, Marc not only dismissed the idea but asserted the opposite.

“If Alex had any kind of mental block, he wouldn’t have been able to lead the races in Thailand or Argentina with a rider like me right behind him, and not make a single mistake. Not one. He never lost focus for a second,” Marc told Motorsport.com.

“Out of all the riders on the grid, he is the one who knows me best – which also makes him the one who respects me the least. He knows I am flesh and blood; he has seen me suffer at home when I was struggling."

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Adam Davis - Icon Sportswire - Getty Images

Beyond knowing each other down to the smallest detail, Marc and Alex train together, meaning each knows exactly how sharp the other is at any given moment. For this reason, and based on what he has seen on the three weekends so far, Marc is convinced that if things continue this way, it’s only a matter of time – perhaps not long – before Alex crosses the finish line ahead of him.

“My brother is a hard worker," he added. "He’s in a good rhythm. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: he will beat me in more than one race, more than two, and more than three. He isn’t a Moto2 and Moto3 world champion by chance. And all those podiums aren’t a coincidence either. He has everything in place. And when that happens, he can be incredibly fast.”

Marc told Motorsport.com that even by the end of 2024, he had already noticed the solidity that has now taken his brother to the top of the championship standings: “Last year, he already finished very strongly. I had a feeling that what’s happening now could happen. In the final races, like Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and also the last one in Barcelona, he was already faster than me.”