Ducati’s decision to build their project around Marc Marquez has led to “division” in the garage, according to Nobuatsu Aoki.
He explained, “I feel like that’s kind of cost them this time.”
“The winner should have been Marquez, because it was a really good race. But unfortunately in the last corner there was a move and he overtook me outside of the track limits so they gave him a penalty. At least he deserved the win for that race.”
Nobuatsu Aoki believes Ducati are feeling the effects of letting Marc Marquez shape their development
Marquez was the only rider able to get the best out of the Ducati Desmosedici GP26 in Thailand. Others, including his factory teammate Francesco Bagnaia, struggled with Michelin’s hard tyre casing, with Bagnaia finishing ninth in both races after starting from 13th on the grid.
But what stood out to Aoki in Thailand were early signs of a “division” within Ducati. He said there appeared to be clear “friction” among their team in Buriram, which he linked to Marquez’s growing influence over their development direction.
Speaking to Young Machine, Aoki said: “What caught my attention at the Thai GP was Ducati. It seems that Marc Marquez’s influence is finally starting to have an impact, and there’s a slight sense of division within the team.
“Of course, this is just my impression from the outside, but there’s a bit of friction there. That makes sense. For example, let’s say a new item is added to the bike. Marquez, with his incredible physical abilities, quickly sets a good time.
“However, his teammate Francesco Bagnaia, who has the same item added to his machine, is like: ‘What is this!?’, and can’t set a good time. This is purely hypothetical but in this scenario Ducati would have no choice but focus on Marquez who was setting times.
Aoki feels that if that continues under Ducati then they’ll get closer towards how Honda were by focusing solely on him – which was another possible reason for why they missed out on a podium for just 88 races.”
Bagnaia has maintained throughout 2025 that he didn’t feel like Ducati had chosen Marquez as their main reference point for development this season.