Marc Marquez owns up to British GP struggles but refuses to panic

Marquez says he will “fight” when he feels “well on the bike”, after struggling to seventh at Silverstone

Marc Marquez says a tough result in the British Grand Prix was entirely down to him, insisting he simply lacked the pace to fight at the front.

The factory Ducati rider endured a lacklustre outing at Silverstone on Sunday, struggling to seventh at the finish after running as high as third on the opening lap.

While the Desmosedici was no match to the Aprilias throughout the weekend, Marquez also struggled in comparison with fellow Ducati riders Alex Marquez and Fabio di Giannantonio.

His lack of pace was initially attributed to tyre performance, after the Spaniard lost significant ground with a rear-tyre issue in Saturday’s sprint.

However, Marquez stressed there was no such problem on Sunday, insisting both the tyre and bike worked as expected.

Asked why he couldn’t finish higher in MotoGP’s first grand prix since the summer break, the 33-year-old gave a blunt reply: “Myself.”

Elaborating on his troubles, he added: “The bike was working good, the tyre was working good.

“The tyre was working better for everybody. So the good thing is that we didn't have a massive drop. I was managing well the first laps and yeah, the drop was not...
The tyre was ok. Even in the last laps, you were able to be very fast.

“Just today, I couldn't find a way to be better.

“That seventh position was something that already we could expect on paper. An optimistic result was a top five, but we couldn't manage in the best way possible.”

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Glyn Kirk / AFP via Getty Images

Earlier in the weekend, Marquez explained that his riding style has never suited the Silverstone layout. However, in the past, he was able to compensate for his weak points by going faster in some areas – something he can no longer do while recovering from his latest shoulder injury.

Asked whether the injury or the riding style was the main culprit, Marquez wouldn’t be drawn, saying: “It's what I have and I need to manage [it].”

However, he admitted that he was struggling more in race trim than over a single lap: “Now, it was the first time that I was able to ride well during the time attack, but the endurance is where I need to try to improve, let's see.”

Not panicking

Marquez had reignited his title challenge with a strong run of results prior to the summer break, taking three grand prix wins in four races to climb to third in the championship.

However, a lacklustre Silverstone weekend has seen him drop back to fourth place, 40 points down on Aprilia’s Jorge Martin.

But Marquez said he had no reason to panic about his lack of performance, as he reiterated losing the 2026 title won’t change his life.

Asked if he was worried after the weekend, Marquez said: “No, because, it depends on your goal. My goal is to enjoy it on the bike and it's not...

“Yeah, [the goal is to win the title], but if not, it will not change my future life.

“For the reason I already said last year and on Thursday here, my ambition is the same. The way to approach the race weekend is the same, but always realistic and no rush.

“Yesterday, I had that big issue with the tyre that I didn't manage well. Yesterday, I finished ninth. Today, I feel like it was not possible to fight with the others. I didn't fight. So, it's like it is.

“I fight enough during my career, I will fight when I feel well. But if [I] don't feel well, I won't stay on the bike.”