Marquez: "Romantic" podium doesn't change Honda MotoGP future

After finishing seventh in Saturday’s sprint race, Marquez took advantage of the wet conditions on Sunday to finish third behind title protagonists Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia, scoring his first top-three result since last year’s Australian Grand Prix.

It comes as Marquez weighs up his future at Honda amid the Japanese marque’s disastrous slump in comPetitiveness.

The Spanish rider has been careful not to make any clear pronouncements about his future plans over the course of Honda’s home race, with a move to Gresini Ducati the clear alternative should he walk away from his current contract.

Marquez said after his podium finish that he remains unhappy with the situation at Honda despite a positive weekend.

“I'm not enjoying it, I'm suffering,” he told reporters post-race. “I have had sleepless nights, thinking about [my future] a lot.

“This is a romantic tale; the first podium of the year had to come at Honda’s home track, in front of the bosses.

“We'll see what happens, but the commitment to the brand has always been and will always be 100%.”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

After joining the majority of riders in switching from slicks to wet tyres at the end of the opening lap, Marquez initially fell as low as sixth before making a comeback through the order as the conditions worsened.

He appeared to be catching up to Martin and Bagnaia when the race was red-flagged with 12 of 24 laps completed, but said race control made the correct decision to ultimately abandon the contest.

“I already saw that it would be a long race, so I tried not to destroy the tyres at the beginning, when there was not much water [on the track],” he reflected.

“Then, when a lot more rain started to fall, I started to come back and feel good.

“Despite being one of the fastest guys on track, I put my hand up [to signal for the race to be red-flagged] because the conditions were difficult, there was a lot of aquaplaning.

“It's also true that the two riders in front had a lot more to lose than me, they are fighting for the championship, but stopping the race was the right decision, especially because of the lack of light.”