Marc Marquez channels Max Verstappen with title mind games

The nine-time world champion is on a rapid rise up the standings in yet another staggering comeback.

Marquez only scored points in two out of six Grands Prix to start the season, missing a pair of races through injury and double surgery, even provoking retirement fears.

Yet the Ducati rider has since come back and won three out of the last four heading into the British Grand Prix, terrifying his title rivals.

Many of them are attempting to pile pressure on Marquez, declaring him the title favourite, in line with what much of the media and betting industry are claiming.

And for the Spaniard, it’s water off a duck’s back.

In fact, Marquez channeled Formula 1 great Max Verstappen in his Silverstone response.

"I'm the favourite,” he said in a media pool. "I've given you the headline, huh? But also put in small print that another title won't change my life, but it will for the others."

The words were very reminiscent of fellow motorsport legend Verstappen at a similar time last year when he was chasing down McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

"Listen - I just do the best I can,” he said. “If I win it or not, it's not going to change my life.

On that occasion, Verstappen ended up missing out on the title by two points, with Norris ending the Dutchman’s four-year winning streak to claim his first title.

However, mistakes in MotoGP are far more costly, and with Marquez’s title rivals’ errors often seeing them beached in the gravel, there’s every reason to believe these mind games could work.

He’ll need all the help he can get, too, as he admitted his early-season shoulder struggles still aren’t fully gone.

"It's already helped me understand that it's a different shoulder: it's not the same shoulder as last year, it's not the same as at the beginning of the season,” Marquez said.

Marquez then went on to explain how that management will be more difficult than ever, given the size of the title fight.

A record 65 points separate first and eighth after 11 rounds, and Marquez admitted the number of rivals means he’ll have to attack more than he would in a head-to-head battle.

"You always prefer two, because that way you only have to control one,” he said.