Parallel Challenges Facing Ferrari And Ducati In 2025

Ducati presented its newest addition Marc Marquez in the Italian ski resort Madonna di Campiglio with a special ceremony one day before Lewis Hamilton's hoopla at Ferrari.

Turning to Italian teams in the goal of securing their next title, the six-time MotoGP world champion and the seven-time F1 world champion have undeniable parallels.

Ferrari has not won the corresponding championship in F1 since 2007, but Ducati easily led the standings of the MotoGP constructors.

Ducati, lead by technical genius Gigi Dall’Igna, has led the MotoGP development race since 2022 and while Ferrari looked to possess an edge over its rivals at the start of the current F1 regulations era in 2022, it has been overhauled by Red Bull and McLaren in that span.

But there are also significant parallels between the two squads, albeit competing in different sports.

Conflicting Reactions

Hamilton's response has been mostly good; the crowd turnout for his maiden drive in a Ferrari F1 vehicle attests to his popularity.

However, there has also been two personalities who have been skeptical of Ferrari’s choice to recruit the 40-year-old.

Former Ferrari CEO Mattia Binotto stated he would not have recruited Hamilton if he was still in control, while former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher was among others who were also critical of the deal.

Ducati also acknowledged that Marquez's joining the team caused a "divisive" response in Italy. The team said that since Marquez was chosen instead of Jorge Martin to be Francesco Bagnaia's squad mate, the feedback had been divided.

Previously considered as the enemy, Marquez has been a thorn in Ducati's side in the past.

From a more broad Italian standpoint, this erupted in his acrimony with Valentino Rossi of Yamaha in 2015 when the latter claimed Marquez had tried to help fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Rossi's squad mate at Yamaha) in the title competition. The couple went to blows on track in Malaysia, and peace has never been completely rebuilt.

In more recent times, Marquez prevailed over Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso in their title clashes between 2017-19 until Ducati’s age of supremacy began in 2022, leading to Marquez to realize he couldn’t defeat them with Honda so joined them in 2024 with a switch to Gresini.

Now he’s changed sides, he will also need to modify some opinions.

Both Have A Point To Prove

Hamilton parted connections with Mercedes because he thought Ferrari provided him the best opportunity of winning an eighth world title, while Marquez chose Ducati to race a competitive bike.

The British driver proved he still has the speed last season with his two wins in Silverstone and Spa, while Marquez had a strong season with Gresini with three victories coming in Aragon, Misano and Phillip Island – the first of those ending a 1,000-day wait for another MotoGP win having overcome career-threatening injuries.

Make no mistake, both Hamilton and Marquez are capable of adding to the title count this season and are keen to prove their respective skeptics wrong.

Read Also: Verstappen Admits He Reconsidered His Future At Red Bull

Management Is Crucial

This is the first occasion since 2014 that Ferrari had two clear number one drivers. Back then it was a short-lived one-season pairing of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.

Together they gave a disappointing return of points as Ferrari concluded the season in fourth position in the championship. The caveat being that this was the debut season for the hybrid era and dominated by Mercedes and Hamilton.

How Charles Leclerc accepts Hamilton coming into the squad will be vital. Ferrari has been formed around the Monegasque and Hamilton is the outsider.

However, judging by the reaction to his debut runs, he stands a possibility of exceeding Leclerc in terms of profile, something that might influence the team’s internal politics.

The same may be said about Ducati too. Having Bagnaia, a two-time MotoGP world champion, and his nearest challenger on the same squad is going to take some management.

Bagnaia and Marquez had past history too. They battled in Portugal last year and there is every probability they will encounter again as they compete for victory.

This is uncharted area for Ducati, which will need to find a method of preserving the peace and guarantee the competition remains fair.

For the meanwhile, both Ferrari and Ducati are relishing in the attention and pleasant wave of marketing.

However, once the season starts, the complexion is likely to shift and how they handle their individual racers will be vital.