From King Felipe VI’s ‘congratulations’ to Marc and Alex Marquez to ‘it’s strange to see them wearing suits like this’ 10 years later

Brothers MotoGP champions and runners-up Marc and Alex Marquez were received by King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace this Thursday in a relaxed press conference in which the King of Spain wanted to officially recognize the work, efforts and successes of the Cervera brothers in 2025.

The last time the Marquez brothers had an audience at the Zarzuela Palace was in November 2014, when Alex and Marc met the likes of Tito Rabat and Toni Bou to celebrate their MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and Trials championships, and were greeted by the king with a “congratulations” according to the Chronicle. Then they presented the monarch with a helmet bearing the signatures of four people. Just before entering the courtroom, Marc jokingly recalled that his brother felt dizzy because of the heat. This Thursday, he greeted them with, “It’s strange to see you in a suit like this.”

In the waiting room, Don Felipe was curious about what it was like to compete with his brother. “It was easy so far, but it was strange competing with my brother. The question is, do you have to pass him here or does he have to pass me, but we are veterans. I am a veteran in this category. Now they go up to MotoGP at 19 years old. I went up at 20 years old, and now they are all 19, 20 and 21 years old and are already pushing,” Marc explained.

The Marquez brothers also attended the media. They believe the historic season “ultimately brought them together” despite competing against each other for the MotoGP world title.

“It’s true that everyone is doing their own thing on the track, but the rivalry is healthy. I think this opportunity will either bring us more together, or it will separate us a little bit, but this opportunity has brought us even more together,” stressed Alex, who along with Marc highlighted that the King is a big fan of motorcycles.

“There are no words to describe this year. It was a very special year. We were rivals, but most of all we supported each other,” said the youngest of the brothers, who recently returned from a holiday in Mexico, regarding the season that ended with Marc as champion and Alex as runner-up.

Marc also spoke about the injury to his right shoulder, saying his recovery is progressing well and he will be able to take part in the first race at the end of February. Alex asserted that they have already sorted out the physical issues “in order to carry out the first tests in February and arrive ready.”

His brother Marc said he was relying on them to “be on the same level” as the team and bike regulations remained the same, and said they were committed to continuing to help each other “keep pulling each other along”.