Fernando Alonso celebrated Marc Márquez's triumph in the 2025 MotoGP World Championship, calling it a feat "within the reach of very few." The F1 driver pointed out that the Spaniard's success represents the fulfillment of an extraordinary comeback, after the Jerez 2020 injury, operations, long rehabilitation and difficult years with an uncompetitive Honda.
Unlike Alonso, who left Formula 1 after a complicated period with McLaren, Márquez chose not to give up, aiming for Team Gresini in 2024 with a satellite Ducati. It was a winning bet, allowing him to return to victory and earn his place on the official Ducati team for 2025, the year of his seventh MotoGP title.
In DAZN's documentary Decoded, Alonso especially extolled his compatriot's mental strength: "It's something exceptional because, in addition to natural talent, you have to have extraordinary mental strength and discipline." He added, "To go five years without winning a title and not lose a single ounce of determination is exceptional."
According to the two-time F1 world champion, the real secret lies in the ability to improve even after being at the top: "Improving a world champion is very difficult. Having the discipline to improve every day, only a few can do that."
Alonso went on to say how complicated it is to stay motivated without a winning means, "When you haven't won in a while or you don't have the right means you have to talk to yourself many times." A journey of solitude, training and introspection to remind yourself "that you are still that person, not the one who can't get the results right now."
Also thinking back to his own return to F1, Alonso explained how a break can affect performance: "The stopwatch said I was slower. It's the cognitive system: when you stop, you reset." And he concluded by emphasizing how "comeback" success has a different value: "When you go through a difficult period and then come back to the front, you experience it in a different way and you have to enjoy it."