Going through its worst-ever phase in grand prix racing, Honda has had to resort to changes in its technical line-up in a bid to keep hold of star rider Marquez.
Ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, it emerged that long-time technical chief Shinichi Kokubu has been moved aside as part of the reshuffle, with his place at HRC set to be taken over by current head of development Shin Sato from 1 October.
It appears unlikely Sato’s promotion will be significant in Marquez’s decision regarding 2024, as the Spaniard had requested certain external appointments to be made for him to keep faith in the project.
The six-time MotoGP world champion has been debating whether to honour the final year of his contract with Honda or move to Gresini on a year-old Ducati.
Speaking about the restructure, Marquez said it was necessary for Honda to make changes in the organisation given its current form, but feels it is too early to say they will deliver the desired results.
“The changes at Honda show that there is a reaction,” he said. “When a project is in this situation there have to be changes.
“When the numbers don't work out in a company, there have to be changes at the top. I think that the structure that exists is good, it is very humane and hard-working. But it is true that the path taken lately was not good.
"I was away for a long time since 2020 [due to injury], and when I returned I realised that the direction the bike had taken was different.
“It's not that this bike is worse than the others, because we are going faster than in 2020 and 2019, but it is that the others have improved more.
Source: Autosport