Mr. Consistency: Álex Márquez Rises to MotoGP Championship Lead

Six Podiums in Six Races – and a Championship Lead

In a season dominated by headlines about a certain famous #93 switching to Ducati and storming the front, it’s his younger brother who quietly sits atop the MotoGP world championship after the Americas GP. Álex Márquez now leads the 2025 MotoGP standings by a single point – the first time in his premier-class career he’s held the top spot crash.net crash.net . The 28-year-old Gresini Racing rider has earned this honor not with flashy wins, but with metronomic consistency: he has finished 2nd place in every Grand Prix and every Sprint race so far this season. That’s six races (three full GP Sundays and three Saturday Sprints) and six runner-up trophies – a streak of P2 finishes that has prompted fans and pundits to affectionately dub him “Mr. P2.” Álex himself can joke about it: “We are ‘Mr. P2’, but I’m happy with that! I wouldn’t mind making P2 from here until the end,” he laughed, fully embracing the consistency tag crash.net .

Heading into the year, few would have predicted Álex Márquez as the championship leader at any stage – least of all Álex himself. “If you said to me before the first race, ‘You will be leading the championship after three rounds,’ I would have said, ‘You’re crazy!’” he admitted in Texas, grinning from ear to ear crash.net . Yet here we are: after a trio of races in Thailand, Argentina, and the USA, Álex has amassed 87 points, edging ahead of his illustrious brother Marc (86 points) and giving the independent BK8 Gresini Ducati squad a taste of leading the premier-class standings for the first time in its history theguardian.com theguardian.com . It’s a remarkable achievement for the smaller outfit – essentially last year’s Ducati machinery run by a satellite team – going up against the might of the factory Ducati team and other factory squads. “For an independent team, running last year’s bike, to be leading the championship is something really, really amazing,” Álex said proudly crash.net . Indeed, his 2024-spec Desmosedici GP24 may not have all the newest bells and whistles, but Álex and Gresini are extracting every ounce of its potential.

Calm and Collected Amid COTA Chaos

Álex’s second-place finish at the Americas GP might on paper look similar to his other results, but it was perhaps his most hard-fought P2 yet. The younger Márquez brother openly admits that Circuit of The Americas is not one of his favorite tracks, and the weekend wasn’t entirely smooth. “If we compare my performance in Thailand, Argentina, and here – this (COTA) was the worst in terms of feeling and how I was approaching all the corners,” he explained candidly crash.net . Throughout practice and qualifying, Álex didn’t quite have the same edge he showed at the previous rounds. In Sunday’s race, he initially slotted in behind Marc and tried to keep Bagnaia at bay, but by Lap 4 he had a big scare. “I had a big moment losing the front at Turn 10,” he revealed, which forced him to mentally reset crash.net . “I said, ‘OK, today we need to be third. We need to be really calm,’” Álex recounted of that moment crash.net . Knowing his brother and Bagnaia had a bit more pace, Álex was prepared to settle for P3 and not push beyond his comfort zone, illustrating the maturity in his approach this season.

Fate, however, had other plans. When Marc Marquez shockingly crashed out of the lead on Lap 9, Álex suddenly found himself elevated back to second place – and now as the leading Márquez on track crash.net crash.net . Far from getting flustered, he stayed true to his mantra of calm. “When I saw Marc crashing, I said, ‘OK, pay attention,’” Álex said, describing how he collected himself to avoid any distraction or temptation to chase Bagnaia foolishly crash.net crash.net . With Bagnaia several seconds up the road and Fabio Di Giannantonio pressuring from third, Álex focused on hitting his marks and preserving his tire. He ultimately crossed the line 2.4 seconds behind Bagnaia for P2, comfortably holding off Di Giannantonio by a second. It marked Álex’s third straight runner-up finish in a Grand Prix (after Thailand and Argentina), but this one carried extra significance: 20 more points that lifted him to the summit of the championship table.

After the race, Álex was buzzing with a mix of joy and disbelief. On the podium, he celebrated with the Gresini crew – a team that welcomed him in 2024 after a tough Honda stint, and helped rejuvenate his career. “We need to enjoy the moment,” he emphasized crash.net crash.net . Álex knows as well as anyone that leading the standings at this stage doesn’t guarantee anything long-term – especially with Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia both looming large as title threats. But for now, the younger Márquez is allowing himself and his team to savor their achievement. “I’m really, really happy with how we are managing everything, how we are always consistent in the top three. That’s exactly what we need to keep doing,” he said crash.net .

Gresini’s Giant-Killer and the Road Ahead

Álex Márquez’s ascent is not just a personal triumph – it’s a feel-good story for the Gresini Racing MotoGP team, a private outfit carrying the legacy of the late Fausto Gresini. In just their second year with Ducati machinery, Gresini have now tasted leading the championship thanks to Álex’s performances. Team Manager Nadia Padovani (Fausto’s widow) was seen emotional in the garage after the race, embracing Álex and the crew. Last year, Gresini took a couple of sprint wins and a grand prix win with Enea Bastianini, but leading the points table is an even bigger milestone. It proves that with the right rider, the year-old Ducati is still a race-winning capable package – and that the satellite teams can take the fight to the factories over a season, not just in one-off races.

Of course, Álex Márquez’s toughest tests are yet to come. His one-point margin over Marc is almost negligible, and Bagnaia’s win in Texas shows the defending champ is back in form and only 12 points behind Álex. Marc Marquez will be fuming after his COTA crash and eager to rebound; Bagnaia has broken his duck and will carry confidence into the next rounds. The European leg of the season is on the horizon after Qatar, bringing circuits where both Marc and Bagnaia have historically been strong. Álex, meanwhile, is chasing his maiden MotoGP victory – he has stood on every step of the podium except the top in the premier class. One might think he needs wins to truly cement a title challenge, but Álex isn’t getting ahead of himself. “Above all, we need to enjoy this moment,” he said, refusing to let pressure override the positive atmosphere crash.net .

It’s also worth noting that Álex is still adapting to the Ducati in just his second season on the bike. His smooth, methodical riding style has so far kept him out of trouble (zero crashes in races to date this year, compared to a few for Marc and Bagnaia each). If he can continue to avoid DNFs and keep racking up podiums, he will remain in the hunt deep into the season. Gresini’s technical support from Ducati will be critical; Álex might not get the mid-season upgrades the factory team does, so maximizing each round before any performance gap widens is key.

For now, the MotoGP paddock has a new championship leader, and his name is Álex Márquez. It’s a role he’s embracing with humility and quiet confidence. The Marquez family has famously produced eight world titles through Marc – but 2025 is offering Álex a chance to grab his own slice of glory. “We will try to keep this level,” he says. “I have no problem being Mr. P2 if it means we stay on top!” Given the wild twists we’ve already seen this season, only time will tell if Álex can indeed maintain his metronomic run. One thing’s for sure: with Álex’s consistency, Marc’s raw speed, and Pecco’s resurgence, MotoGP fans are in for an exhilarating three-rider title fight. And in that battle, Álex Márquez has proven he is no longer the underdog kid brother – he’s a genuine contender in his own right. Enjoy it, indeed.