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MotoGP team, Gresini Racing has piqued the interest of a Formula 1 world champion.
Gresini Racing is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in MotoGP as a satellite team of Ducati. Gresini also compete in Moto2 as QJmotor Gresini Moto2 and in MotoE as Felo Gresini MotoE.
The team is named after its founder, Fausto Gresini, who set it up in 1997. Notable MotoGP riders who have raced for Gresini are Sete Gibernau, Colin Edwards, Marco Melandri, Jorge Martin, Aleix Espargaro, Alvaro Bautista, and the late Marco Simoncelli.
Furthermore, eight-time world champion, Marc Marquez joined the team for the 2024 season. He joins his brother, Alex Marquez who has raced for Gresini since the 2023 season.
? BREAKING: Marc Marquez will leave Honda “by mutual agreement” and switch to Gresini Racing for the 2024 #MotoGP season ✍️
Are you looking forward to watching #MM93 on a Ducati? ? pic.twitter.com/3b2HiHKa4F
— Autosport (@autosport) October 4, 2023
An F1 driver is a huge MotoGP fan
It is no secret that Lewis Hamilton has great love and respect for the MotoGP championship and its riders. The seven-time Formula 1 champion supported the announcement earlier this year that F1’s owners, Liberty Media purchased MotoGP.
As reported by Autosport, Hamilton shared:
“I think Liberty has done an amazing job with Formula 1.”
And he expects similar success for the motorbike championship. Additionally, the Briton suggested that it would be “epic” for F1 and MotoGP to share the same race weekends in the future.
Hamilton has also established an excellent relationship with nine-time motorcycle racing champion and former MotoGP rider, Valentino Rossi. The pair traded machinery back in 2019 for a Monster Energy track day.
Is Hamilton buying Gresini?
As reported by The Race, Hamilton has expressed his interest in acquiring the squad to the current CEO, Team Owner, and Team Principal of Gresini Racing, Nadia Padovani. Padovani is Fausto Gresini’s wife, taking over the company following her husband’s death in 2021 and becoming MotoGP’s first female team owner.
First look at the 2023 Gresini Ducatis: team owner Nadia Padovani (Fausto Gresini's widow) with Álex Márquez & Fabio Di Giannantonio. Big change for Márquez, from Honda to Ducati, & big change for Di Giannantonio, who gets a new crew chief, Joan Mir's man Frankie Carchedi #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/p76pyMQ2aZ
— Mat Oxley (@matoxley) January 21, 2023
Hamilton has owned a racing team in the past. He owned the Extreme E team, X44, who won the title in 2022. Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series. Electric SUVs compete in a racing series that takes place in remote areas of the world. McLaren, Andretti Autosport, and Nico Rosberg currently have teams entered in the series.
It is not only motorsport that the 39-year-old has been involved in regarding team ownership, his interests also extend to American football. Hamilton has formed part of the Denver Broncos ownership group since 2022.
Therefore, how likely is the Hamilton-Gresini acquisition? According to Simon Patterson at The Race:
“A member of Hamilton’s inner circle was even believed to have been in attendance with Gresini at Assen last weekend.”
He continues:
“The current Mercedes driver and his representatives scout out the commercial viability of taking over the team at a key time in MotoGP’s history.”
So, will we see more involvement in MotoGP from Hamilton in the future?
Featured Image Credit: @GresiniRacing on X