Marc Marquez tells Honda to “swallow your pride” as new tech boss is hired

Marc Marquez has discussed his former team Honda’s revised strategy in hiring a new technical director.

Romano Albesiano - who helped transform Aprilia from MotoGP’s slowest bike into a grand prix - will join Honda in 2025 to oversee their technical department.

It is the latest big step taken by the struggling Japanese manufacturer to restore their lost competitiveness.

And it a notable change of philosophy to hire a European into a crucial, senior job.

"I didn't know,” Marquez, who walked out on Honda last year due to frustrations with the project, told Marca on Friday at the Japanese MotoGP.

“For me, Honda has the largest infrastructure, the largest budget in the paddock.

“The issue is that, in the end, those who decide are people, they are humans, three or four people who are in charge of the project.

“I've always said it: hiring an engineer who can make you skip steps is cheap for a factory.

“And I think that's one more step in the technical point that Honda is at right now: trying to cut the times to get back to the highest level, which they are going to achieve.

“But if you can cut the times by hiring engineers from other factories who give you immediate solutions, without having to investigate, that is cheap for a factory.

“I have always had that concept, no matter how much they ask you for another technician, no matter how much the engineer asks you for more, it is cheap, because it is much more expensive to try parts.

“In the end, you find one, yes. But for me it is a success [to hire a new technical director]. I don't know what the engineer is like, but it is a success if they are going in that direction."

Marquez continued: "The issue is that pride in competition is bad. In competition, there is a moment when you will win, when you will lose.

“When you lose, you have to swallow your pride and know how to understand that others are doing better.

“There are people who get it before; There are people who understand it later, but, for me, it's not a lack of pride, it's intelligence.

“If you see that other factories are doing that, in the case of Yamaha, for example, and they are cutting times before you, do the same.”

Marquez has retained a dignified relationship with his ex-team since joining Gresini Ducati this year.

When he won his first grand prix on a Ducati, he visited his former Honda colleagues to share the celebrations with them.

Honda’s announcement that they have recruited Aprilia’s Albesiano for next year is an intriguing move.

Aleix Espargaro will also swap Aprilia racing duties for a Honda test role, meaning he will work with Albesiano again.