News Summary
- Márquez estimates a 70% chance of retiring within three years, leaving a 30% possibility of continuing his career.
- The 2025 world title brought the Ducati rider a sense of peace after years of serious injuries and helped him accept disappointing results.
- Márquez insists he will not retire while he believes he can recover from injuries and return to fighting for victories.
Marc Márquez has admitted that his current Ducati contract could be his last in MotoGP, estimating that retirement within the next three years is considerably more likely than continuing his career beyond that period. The seven-time premier-class world champion explained that the title he won in 2025, following years of physical difficulties, fundamentally changed his attitude towards competition and the prospect of eventually leaving the championship.
Speaking to Autosport on Thursday, from the garden of the house he shares with his brother Álex near Phillip Island, the 33-year-old Spaniard revisited a question he had answered before the 2025 season. At the time, Márquez was convinced he would still be racing three years later. His assessment has now changed.
“This time, it’s a little more complicated to answer that question. I don’t know exactly, but, if I had to put a figure on it, I’d say there’s a 70% chance that I’ll have retired within three years, and a 30% chance that I’ll still be racing,” Márquez told.
Márquez remains contracted to Ducati through the end of 2028 and is still fighting for the 2026 world title against Jorge Martín, arriving at the Australian Grand Prix just two points behind the Aprilia rider.
Márquez says 2025 title changed how he will eventually retire
The Spaniard’s latest assessment comes after one of the most significant comebacks in MotoGP history. His 2025 title ended a six-year wait for another premier-class championship, following the serious right-arm injury he sustained at Jerez in 2020 and the multiple operations and rehabilitation periods that followed.
Winning again brought relief that extended far beyond the championship itself. Márquez acknowledged that, for the first time in his career, he could accept results that previously would have caused considerable frustration.
“Precisely because of last year’s title, I now feel calm and relaxed,” he explained.
Márquez admitted that finishing sixth or seventh, particularly when a long way behind the winner, had once been almost impossible for him to accept. His 2025 championship changed that perspective. He now understands that certain weekends will be difficult, whether because of his physical condition, the motorcycle or the circumstances of a particular circuit.
The most important consequence concerns the way he imagines retirement. Márquez explained that another championship would no longer determine whether he could finish his career satisfied. He believes he has already achieved the sporting comeback that mattered most to him.
“From now on, whether I win one more or one less won’t make any difference. When I retire, I’ll do so as a free man, at peace with myself,” the Ducati rider added.
Márquez has continued fighting at the front throughout 2026, even recovering 102 points relative to the championship leader in just seven Grands Prix, between the Italian and San Marino rounds.
Indonesia injury prevented Márquez from considering immediate retirement
Márquez also reflected on the emotional aftermath of winning the 2025 championship. After the celebrations, he experienced an unexpected sense of emptiness, having spent so much time and energy pursuing a goal that once appeared impossible.
The relief of completing his comeback was so intense that he had little desire to return to riding for several days. However, the possibility of considering retirement was interrupted almost immediately by another accident.
Just one week after securing the championship, Márquez suffered another injury during the Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika, affecting the right arm that had already required multiple operations earlier in his career.
The setback gave him another immediate objective: recovering sufficiently to compete and win again.
“I wasn’t tempted to retire because I didn’t have time to get to that point, as I got injured again a week later [in Indonesia],” Márquez explained.
The Ducati rider made clear that recoverable injuries will not, by themselves, persuade him to end his career.
Márquez continues fighting Martín for MotoGP title at Phillip Island
Márquez’s comments come at a decisive stage of the 2026 season. Jorge Martín leads the championship with 355 points, just two ahead of Márquez, while Marco Bezzecchi remains in contention with 309.
The Ducati rider’s recovery during the second half of the year has demonstrated that his motivation remains intact. Although winning another championship may no longer define his future, he continues to pursue the opportunity to add an eighth premier-class title.
The Australian Grand Prix carries additional significance because it will be the final MotoGP round held at Phillip Island before the event moves to Adelaide in 2027.
Márquez’s competitive situation is examined in the championship permutations for Martín, Márquez and Bezzecchi at Phillip Island.
His existing Ducati contract also covers the first two seasons of MotoGP’s new 850cc regulations, which begin in 2027.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the Australian MotoGP Grand Prix at Phillip Island this weekend, with breaking news, full coverage and real-time updates in its MotoGP section.
