Winners and Losers: MotoGP 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix
- Ramiza Donlic
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Written by Ramiza Donlic
The first-ever Hungarian Grand Prix at the Batalon Park delivered drama from start to finish: a chaotic sprint, a collision-filled Grand Prix and yet another dominant double for Marc Márquez. As the season marches on, the grid is splitting into clear winners and those falling further behind.
Winner: Marc Márquez & Ducati Lenovo
Marc Márquez continues to rewrite the script of the 2025 MotoGP season. Even a brush with Marco Bezzecchi at the start of the Grand Prix couldn´t derail him. His aggressive but calculated moves put him back in front and once there, he managed the pace with precision. Batalon Park became his 22nd different circuit win.
With nine consecutive doubles (Sprint + GP wins), Márquez has transformed Ducati´s already formidable machinery into an untouchable package. For Ducati Lenovo, it´s the dream scenario: their gamble on Márquez is paying off with maximum points and total control of the championship.
Winner: Pedro Acosta & KTM Factory Racing
For KTM, Pedro Acosta´s second place was as valuable as a win. The young Spaniard delivered a mature, tactical ride - quick enough to keep pressure on Márquez and brave enough to take advantage of Bezzecchi´s fading pace.
Acosta´s ability to rebound from his sprint crash with such composure shows why many consider him the only rider capable of challenging Márquez in the long term. For KTM, whose other riders continue to struggle, Acosta is carrying the factory´s hopes almost single-handedly.
Winner: Jorge Martin & Aprilia Racing
The reigning world champion hasn´t been at his best this season, but his performance in Hungary was a reminder of what he can do. Starting 16th after a disastrous qualifying, Martin carved through the field to finish 4th, narrowly missing the podium.
Combined with Bezzecchi´s third place, Aprilia can be proud of a weekend that showed depth and speed. They may not yet have Ducati´s consistency, but Martin´s fightback was one of the standout rides of the season.
Winner: Luca Marini
Honda´s recovery is slow, but Luca Marini´s P5 was a symbolic breakthrough. For a manufacturer that has spent much of the past two seasons battling at the back, finishing as "best of the rest" behind Ducati, KTM and Aprilia was a victory in itself.
Marini has grown into his role as Honda´s lead rider and his result gave the team one of their most positive weekends in years. If Honda can build on this, the long road back to competitiveness might just have started.
Losers: Marco Bezzecchi
Bezzecchi´s Hungarian Grand Prix was bittersweet. After a brilliant launch and early leadership, he went wheel-to-wheel with Márquez in a thrilling duel. But once overtaken, his pace faded and he ultimately lost second place to Acosta.
On paper, a podium is a strong result, but given how much he had in his hands, finishing third felt like a defeat. For a rider still searching for consistency, Hungary was a missed opportunity.
Loser: Francesco Bagnaia
Another race, another disappointment for the reigning Ducati champion. Bagnaia picked up a Long Lap penalty, dropped out of podium contention and never looked like threatening the leaders.
Ninth place is far below expectations, especially when his Ducati stablemates are consistently fighting for wins. With Márquez commanding the headlines, Bagnaia´s struggles risk reducing him to a background figure.
Loser: Alex Márquez
Marc´s younger brother remains second in the standings, but his title hopes all but ended in Hungary. A crash on lap two left him fighting for scraps and finishing just 14th.
While he´s been Ducati´s second-best rider this season, the gap to Marc is now an insurmountable 175 points. His role for the rest of the season may shift from contender to damage limitation.
Loser: Yamaha
Another difficult weekend for Yamaha, highlighted by Fabio Quartararo´s struggles. After being handed a Long Lap penalty for his Sprint collision with Bastianini, the Frenchman could only salvage tenth place on Sunday.
The Yamaha package remains fundamentally uncompetitive and Quartararo´s frustration is increasingly visible. The once-dominant Japanese brand is in freefall compared to its European rivals.
"To be honest, I was not super confident at the start because of what happened yesterday, so I braked a bit too early this time. Then something else happened ahead of me on track, and I lost two more positions because of that. I was able to overtake Binder and Bagnaia in the first laps, but after the long-lap penalty the tyre started to drop and I lacked grip. I was pushing hard and was strong in braking, but I was not able to close the gap to Pecco." - Fabio Quartararo, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
Loser: LCR Honda
For Honda´s satellite squad, Hungary was another disaster. Zarco´s heavy crash late in the race ended a miserable weekend and underscored the team´s lack of direction. While HRC showed small progress through Marini, LCR continues to flounder without results, relevance or signs of improvement.
The Hungarian Grand Prix ultimately confirmed what the season has already made clear: MotoGP 2025 is being defined by Marc Márquez´s dominance and the struggle of others to catch up. Acosta and Aprilia showed glimpses of resistence, Honda found a rare bright spot and Yamaha sank deeper into crisis.
If the pattern holds, the remainder of the season will not be about who wins, but about who can adapt quickly enough to stop Márquez from turning this campaign into one of the mist one-sided title runs in modern MotoGP history.
