Marquez announced in October that he would be leaving Honda at the end of the 2023 season to join Gresini Ducati, ending an 11-year partnership that has yielded 59 victories and six world titles.
Honda initially highlighted Miguel Oliveira as favourite to replace Marquez, but this went nowhere when it originally insisted on only offering him a one-year deal to keep its options open for 2025.
Fabio Di Giannantonio then entered the frame as the next potential candidate, having lost his Gresini Ducati ride to Marquez.
At the Malaysian Grand Prix, Honda team boss Alberto Puig confirmed the marque was looking at three options: Di Giannantonio, Marini and Pol Espargaro.
Espargaro, who rode for Honda in 2021 and 2022, quickly elected to remain with KTM as a test rider next year, while Marini emerged as favourite.
Intriguingly, despite its initial approach, Honda has offered Marini a two-year deal to join its factory squad for 2024, joining Joan Mir next season.
Marini made his MotoGP debut in 2021 with the VR46-backed side of the Avintia team, before the former stepped up to the premier class fully in 2022 with Marini and Marco Bezzecchi.
Scoring two grand prix podiums in 2023, Marini had already re-signed to remain with VR46 for another season in 2024 before the Honda option appeared.
Source: Autosport