After scoring his first podium finishes with the Honda HRC team in 2025, Joan Mir is gearing up to start his fourth season with the team with renewed motivation. The 28-year-old Spaniard's confidence stems not only from the Japanese team's significant progress last year, which saw them take a step forward to the point of losing their concessions, but also from the enthusiasm of test rider Aleix Espargaró, who set the fastest time on the final day of the Shakedown in Sepang. These are all encouraging signs for 2026 and beyond. Although Joan, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has admitted that he is still not sure what 2027 will bring.
"The truth is that every time we talk about new contracts, we do it earlier and earlier. There are no limits on this, and now it seems that some people have started talking about it in November. This means that no one can sleep, because you don't want to find yourself without a seat. On the other hand, I want to see how things go before making a decision, because I believe that if you don't wait and exaggerate this process a little, you might make the wrong decision. But you still have to make it, because everyone else is deciding early. We'll try to play our cards right. But my 'decision' right now is that I don't know what I want to do," admitted Mir, commenting on the latest market developments on the sidelines of the HRC team presentation. "It's true that I see an improvement in the Honda project in recent years. I've had some difficult moments with them, and you saw that last year, when I got on the podium, I celebrated as if I had won the championship, because getting good results with them has a different flavour."
Regarding doubts about his future, the Majorcan added: "What I mean is that I haven't even thought about what I want to do. I don't know at the moment, I'm just thinking about starting the year in the best possible way. But on the other hand, we'll have to move if the other riders are already closing deals. That's the reality. So, we'll see."
According to the latest market rumours, however, it seems that Mir will have to compete with Marini for a place on the team alongside Quartararo.
"I think every year you fight with your teammate. That doesn't change: everyone has to have their own goals and know what they want," he said. "Rather than fighting with my teammate, I'd like to fight for the podium and to win races. If I did that with my teammate, it would be fantastic. I don't know who my teammate will be and if the rumors about Quartararo are true, but I have to focus on myself because now I have a season ahead of me and work to do."
The Honda rider is ready for what lies ahead, despite his winter not getting off to the best start: "I took a week's vacation in December, but it was a horrible vacation because I caught a virus and had a fever and was sick the whole time. Now I'm 100%, I've had a chance to rest and spend Christmas at home."
Joan was also heartened by the words of Aleix Espargarò, who said that the 2026 Honda is the best bike he has ever ridden.
"Aleix was very happy with the test, and that's encouraging because that wasn't his comment in last year's Shakedown. This means that the project is improving, as is the bike, and I'm happy about that," he commented. "However, I would like to be cautious, because in the tests at Sepang you always have to be fast, and he was very fast, but there may be conditions, such as tyre wear and track temperature, that are not normally found in a Grand Prix. That's why we want to be cautious and continue working in the same way we are doing now, which is to reduce the gap to the best bikes a little. We will try to work hard in these tests, but for me it's positive that the best bike Aleix rode is the one I will be riding. On the other hand, the other bike he rode was the Aprilia from three years ago... Anyway, I was here for the last two days of the Shakedown, I talked to Aleix and listened to his comments, and he did a great job."
Looking at the work done by the Honda test rider, it seems that the efforts of the Japanese manufacturer have focused precisely on the areas where the two-time world champion needed the most improvement.
"Yes, I think the team has focused on improving the negative aspects that were there, introducing elements to improve the bike," he acknowledged. "Aleix has found a bike with good balance that works quite well here in Sepang in all areas. We'll have to see if that's also the case on other circuits, but Aleix's feedback has been positive. He's optimistic and motivated because he's convinced we can do well."
The bar can therefore only be higher than in 2025.
"I think expectations are higher now than last year. Last season's goal was to try to be competitive at the end of the year. We did that: we showed we have great potential, we had some very solid races at the end, and even though we lacked consistency again, in terms of performance, we were in the Top 6 in all the races," he recalled. "I would like to be consistently in those positions and try to be more consistent. But that will happen if I have a package that allows me to control the situation a little more. With a better package, I won't have to go 100% in every race, and that will obviously change things. Expectations are high. I want to get on the podium more often and get closer to victory on the tracks that favour us."
Of his seasons with Honda, the one about to begin is undoubtedly the year in which Mir will start with the most motivation.
"Yes, because last year was a year of transition. It was a year in which we had some good races at the end of the season and in which I was able to show my potential at certain moments. We also improved the base of the bike, and now the engineers have had time to work on those weak points that forced us to push too hard on some tracks and, in my case, caused me to lose a bit of consistency. I'm very optimistic and feel that this is the year when the bike is better prepared. We are progressing very well with this project, and I am happy to see that all the efforts we have made are paying off. However, we must be cautious, because the initial euphoria in declarations can play nasty tricks," said the Honda rider, who then explained what his approach will be in the first races of the season.
"It's very difficult to find a balance, because as a rider you always look for short-term results," he commented. "It's clear that I'll give my all to achieve this goal, but it's also true that I've given myself a dressing down, telling myself that I can't crash so much, always looking for the limit. I believe that this also comes from having a better package. So now we will try to improve this package and then I will try to manage the risk, having some margin. I don't consider myself a rider who is desperately looking to sign a contract, but I want to maintain this mentality throughout the year. If I do a good job, as I am convinced I will, the offers will come."
Returning to the topic of the market, the Honda rider concluded by pointing out that everything is moving faster than he would like: "The ideal situation would be for all the riders to agree that nothing can be finalized so early, unless you are very sure you want to continue, because otherwise you risk regretting it on both sides. The ideal thing has always been to start talking about it at Jerez. The problem is that you can't meet the deadlines you would like, because you have to adapt to what others are doing. No one knows what will happen in 2027. This means that any action may or may not work."