Marc Márquez has completed an impressive first season with the factory Ducati team, and his strong results now lead to a much more difficult contract negotiation than the one he signed before. Ducati has followed a clear plan in recent years, winning four MotoGP titles in a row and building a bike that many riders want so much that they are willing to accept lower salaries or unusual conditions just to ride it. Márquez showed this clearly when he left Honda early, giving up more than €20 million, and then rode for Gresini in 2024 without a salary, simply to get access to Ducati and prove himself again.

His plan worked very well. He fought against Jorge Martin for a place in the official team and won that fight, earning the chance to work directly with the factory engineers. His first Ducati contract is believed to have paid him a base salary around €3 million, which is not much for a rider of his level, but the bonuses were large. His 11 wins before his injury in Indonesia brought him more than €2 million, and becoming world champion gave him another significant bonus of around €2 million. These results made him Ducati’s most important rider and one of the strongest figures in MotoGP.

Now Márquez holds the advantage in the new negotiations. Bagnaia has struggled this season, both with performance and confidence, so Ducati naturally follows Márquez’s direction. Talks between the two sides began before the Asian races and continued later in Valencia, but it is unclear whether Márquez’s injury, which forced him to miss the final four races, changed anything in the discussions. Both Márquez and Ducati want to continue together until at least 2028, but the economic situation makes the conversation more delicate.

Ducati does not have the financial power of Honda or Yamaha. The company has been affected by weaker sales in the United States and China, and new American tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump have made business even harder. At the same time, Ducati’s parent company, Audi, experienced an 11.8% drop in sales in 2024 compared to 2023, which led the Audi Group to introduce budget limits that will remain in place through 2026. This is exactly the period when Ducati must sign new contracts for 2027 and 2028, so the timing is not ideal.

When Márquez first joined the factory team, the financial situation did not matter because he accepted almost everything just to get a competitive bike. But now that he has won again and shown his full strength, he naturally wants better conditions. Ducati understands this. As Gigi Dall’Igna said, they must manage everything carefully and make sure all the pieces fit.

Most people believe Márquez will renew his contract, but this decision will directly affect who becomes his teammate. Bagnaia has said many times that he wants to stay at Ducati and finish his career there, but for that to happen he must improve his results and also lower his salary request. If he does not do both, Ducati has many riders interested in taking his place, including young riders and several competitive MotoGP riders from other teams.

Everything together makes this one of the most important moments for Ducati in recent years. The team must keep Márquez, decide what to do with Bagnaia, and do all of this during a time when money is tight.