Following Marco Bezzecchi’s win at the British Grand Prix, the MotoGP series is nearing the end of its first third of the season. The year so far has been marked by the consistency of Ducati riders Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez, but it’s also notable that we’ve seen five different winners from the first seven races, representing four different teams and three different manufacturers.
Motorsport Week’s latest MotoGP feature spotlights nine different riders, highlighting three standout performers, three who have underperformed, and three riders who are currently under pressure.
Three Standout Riders
Johann Zarco
One of the standout riders of 2025 so far has undoubtedly been Johann Zarco. The Frenchman entered the campaign after a stellar return to the LCR Honda team in 2024 but has somehow started this season even better.
In arguably the best form of his career, Zarco continues to lead the Japanese marque’s return to the top. The two-time race winner currently sits fifth in the Riders’ standings with well over double the points of the next best Honda rider (Luca Marini in 13th with 38 points).
It’s evident that Honda has taken strides in development, but Zarco remains its sole rider to consistently be challenging at the very front. He was rewarded for his strong performances with a home victory in Le Mans, breaking a two-year winless streak for the manufacturer.
Zarco is supposedly in talks to sign a factory deal with Honda and, based on his form throughout his time at LCR Honda, it’s clear he would be deserving of the opportunity.
Alex Marquez
Alex Marquez has consistently had to deal with criticism throughout his career that he is only racing in MotoGP due to his surname, but the Spanish rider has clearly proven some of his doubters wrong with a strong and consistent start to the 2025 campaign.
Marquez has surprised many with the fact that he has been able to keep up with his brother in the title battle, even leading the way in the Riders’ standings following some errors from Marc Marquez, while he has consistently defeated double champion Francesco Bagnaia.
However, it’s not the pace that has been the most impressive in 2025. Marquez has proved he has the consistency to challenge at the very top, earning the nickname of ‘Mr P2’ after finishing second in all-bar-one of the Sprints in 2025, with his victory at Silverstone being the only outlier. Alongside this form, Marquez took his first Grand Prix victory in Jerez and has eliminated the regular mistakes we were used to seeing throughout his career.
Although there have still been the occasional errors, most notably in the rainy Le Mans weekend, Marquez has yet to show any signs that this form is merely a purple patch.
Fabio Quartararo
Unsurprisingly, Fabio Quartararo is a standout rider on our list. The 2021 champion entered the new season with a cautious approach after staying loyal to the Yamaha project by signing a two-year contract extension.
It is evident that the Japanese marque has made some steps in its bid to regain competitiveness, particularly over the one lap. Quartararo claimed three shock pole positions in a row at Jerez, his home race at Le Mans, and the recent race at Silverstone.
He managed to convert only one of his six opportunities at the front of the grid into a podium finish, but the Frenchman’s performances indicate he has every chance of securing a first victory since 2022. After all, his impressive ride at Silverstone was met with no reward due to a rare fault with the ride height device, consequently ending his race-winning hopes.
Three Underperforming Riders
Francesco Bagnaia
It’s fair to say it’s been a nightmare start to 2025 for Francesco Bagnaia. There’s been a reluctance to criticise him for underperforming in the early phases of the season as he welcomed Marc Marquez into his Ducati team, but in recent rounds it’s become clear the Italian needs to do more to warrant his continued position within the factory operation.
The two-time champion has been outperformed by team-mate Marquez in almost every round this season. Despite taking victory in COTA and a podium finish in Jerez, these results were only made possible due to errors from the Spaniard, and not on pure pace alone.
It is not just the fact he is being beaten by the eight-time champion, which would be somewhat understandable. Instead, the Italian has been consistently outperformed by Alex Marquez on the satellite Gresini machine, as well as Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Vinales and Johann Zarco on lesser machinery.
Bagnaia admits he feels uncomfortable on the 2025 Ducati and has already conceded he needs to adapt to the machinery instead of waiting for it to suit his needs. However, the change needs to come quickly if he wants to take it to not just Marc, but also Alex Marquez.
Enea Bastianini
It has been a difficult time for Enea Bastianini, but it’s hard to say he’s under pressure given that a lot of his current issues are circumstantial. However, the Italian’s performances are still quite a way off team-mate Maverick Vinales, which makes it fair to suggest he may be underperforming.
Bastianini joined KTM after leaving the Ducati set-up, but the manufacturer has been rocked by a financial crisis that left its MotoGP participation in doubt and saw development on its RC16 come to a halt. Given the backwards development of the Austrian marque over the last two campaigns, the lack of testing suggested it would be a difficult campaign in 2025 – which has proven true for Bastianini.
While the situation has been less-than-ideal, it is also clear the Italian has struggled to adapt to the KTM machinery. Compared to his team-mate who has been able to run in the top five at times, Bastianini has been consistently off the pace. More worryingly for the seven-time race winner, he has been unable to deliver the late race pace that has brought him into strong points contention many times in the past.
However, it is clear Bastianini needs more time. It’s the first season in his MotoGP career on non-Ducati machinery and KTM has been notoriously difficult to adapt to in the past. Given the circumstances, it’s fair to give Bastianini leeway, but he knows that he must do more to stand a chance at competing against hid fellow KTM riders.
Joan Mir
The 2020 champion has yet to hit the ground running in 2025, posting 18 points and sitting 19th in the championship standings. To put into perspective, team-mate Marini is 13th in the classification charts, while Zarco is fifth.
In the longer-form races, Mir has only finished twice, at Argentina and Silverstone. These performances have hindered the impressive development that Honda has made, considering we’ve previously covered Zarco’s heroic season.
He is not under pressure yet, but if the trends continue, then Honda could replace him despite holding a contract until 2026. Jorge Martin, Toprak Razgatlioglu, and Pedro Acosta are all rumoured, therefore, Mir needs to find results fast to show his true speed.
Three Riders Under Pressure
Jack Miller
Jack Miller’s lifeline opportunity to return to Pramac for its new Yamaha project put him under pressure from the get-go. The Australian signed a one-year deal, and his season so far hasn’t been that fantastic after the drama with KTM.
A strong result of seventh at Silverstone places him three points above factory rider Alex Rins, ending a three-race spell of retirements. Miller’s season has had elements of strong showings and sub-par performances, but whether Pramac exercise a potential extension is the key story.
Recent developments see Miller linked with a move away from the series altogether and imply he could be WorldSBK-bound, while reports from reputable sources imply Razgatlioglu could also be heading to the satellite squad. While nothing concrete has been revealed just yet, Miller’s British Grand Prix heroics bolster his case of remaining on the grid for 2026.
Raul Fernandez
Raul Fernandez is on our list because the Spaniard isn’t quite performing up to the level expected so far this season. Though he is consistently earning points on the board, securing points in five of the seven races so far, he isn’t producing the results anywhere near his rookie team-mate.
Ai Ogura was the lead rookie before having to miss the Silverstone round due to injuries sustained in practice, but the Japanese star has impressed far beyond many people’s expectations.
Fernandez’s contract expires in 2026, but he needs to extract more of the RS-GP’s potential to match Ogura and recent Aprilia race winner, Marco Bezzecchi. There might not be any pressure internally for expecting improved performances, but the 2021 Moto2 champion isn’t anywhere near the level of those representing the Noale brand.
Brad Binder
The South African sits as the third-highest KTM rider in the championship with 34 points, three more than new KTM rider Bastianini. Despite recording three top-eight finishes, Binder’s future with the team appears increasingly uncertain.
Binder is the nucleus of the KTM project, especially since he joined over a decade ago, and the long-term future of the Austrian marque is still up in the air. This is concerning given Binder’s exceptional riding ability, but with newcomer Vinales and young rising star Acosta outperforming him in the championship, Binder is under serious threat.
The 29-year-old has struggled to find consistency, one of his trademark attributes. If things don’t turn around soon, this season could cast a shadow over his remarkable record of four consecutive top-six championship finishes.
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