Although Marc Marquez insists time and again that he has a contract with Honda until 2024, several indications suggest that he is considering an exit that the Japanese manufacturer is trying to avoid with a recruitment plan that was launched in Austria.
Marquez has been very careful with his words for months so that no one can accuse him of being a liar in the future. In recent weeks, the question he has been asked most often in his media appearances has been: "Will you still be riding a Honda next year?" Same question, same answer. "I have a contract," replies the Spaniard, who is thinking about an irrefutable fact: his agreement with Honda expires at the end of 2024, although that doesn't necessarily mean that he will fulfil it.
HRC president Koji Watanabe has stated that if Marquez expresses his intention to break the deal a year earlier than agreed, he will not be prevented from doing so: "Obviously, we would like him to continue. But, in the end, it's up to him to decide. If he wants to leave, we will not hold him back."
Honda is evidently afraid that the cornerstone of its MotoGP project, winner of six of the seven titles that were up for grabs between 2013 and 2019, will leave under the current circumstances: with a bike in decline that, race after race, struggles at the bottom of the field.
The new order established by the European factories, led by Ducati, has caused the gap between them and the Japanese (Honda and Yamaha) to grow exponentially this season. These differences, combined with the arrogance of HRC - entrenched in a working methodology that has become obsolete - have resulted in Marquez's weariness.
Insight: How Honda's stubbornness has left it in a MotoGP no-man's land
He has long pointed to the test after the San Marino Grand Prix, which takes place next week, as the key date that will mark where his future lies.
Source: Autosport