Marquez was “playing with us all race” in Thailand GP

Francesco Bagnaia says Marc Marquez was “playing with us” in the Thailand Grand Prix and could have dominated the MotoGP race if he wanted.

New factory Ducati signing Marquez claimed victory in the opening round of the 2025 MotoGP season, beating brother Alex Marquez and team-mate Bagnaia to the top spot at Buriram.

While the elder Marquez secured pole position and comfortably led the race early on, he suddenly slowed down on lap 7 and dropped to second position, where he stayed for the majority of the race.

It was only four laps from the finish that he repassed his Gresini Ducati-mounted brother at Turn 12, before crossing the finish line with a winning margin of 1.7s.

Marquez later revealed that he had to drop a place to keep the tyre temperature above the regulatory window, having noticed a significant drop while running in clear air at the front.

Marquez’s tyre pressure drama brought Bagnaia into play, with the two-time MotoGP champion closing within half a second of the leading duo in the closing stages of the race.

But Bagnaia believes Marquez was simply “playing” with his rivals in the Thai GP, citing the Spaniard’s rapid lap times in the final three tours as proof that he had a lot more pace in reserve.

“I wasn’t even close to stopping them,” Bagnaia said of the Marquez brothers. “I tried but it was like in the cinema. I was there behind, I was trying to catch them back.

“I gave my all and I couldn’t be too close to Alex to try and attempt [a move].

“Marc was playing with us all the race. Also, for his problem with the [tyre] pressure but as soon as he decided to go, he gave to me like 2.3s [gap] in three laps.

“He was much, much faster and I have to improve, learn what he is doing better and close this gap, because I know that the next two race weekends are very good for both of them, but I need to be closer.”

Bagnaia eventually wound up third in the Buriram race, 2.3s behind the winning Ducati of Marc Marquez.

While he felt his outing was a good exercise in damage limitation, especially after losing the 2024 title due to a lack of consistency, he said he would never “sign up for third place” in MotoGP.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I’m not here to finish third,” he said. “I learned from last year it’s always important to take the maximum and to take the correct risk. Today I was just trying to manage the situation because I was risking a bit to finish third.

“I was there behind [them] and every time I was trying to close the gap I was having problems with the front. It was the maximum I could [do].

“I will never sign [up] for a third place but it was the maximum I could. Next time I will try to be second and then after first. I need to start work on my set-up on my bike like we did on Saturday and close the gap from then.”