Marc Marquez took the victory at the Argentina Grand Prix, but he still believes that his toughest challenger is not his teammate, Francesco Bagnaia. Instead, he thinks it is his own brother, Alex Marquez.

Alex, who is riding the older GP24 Ducati for the Gresini team, has been right behind Marc in every race so far. Alex finished second to Marc in both sprint races and Sunday’s race. This is the best start to a MotoGP season in Alex’s career.

Sunday’s race was Marc’s hardest battle so far. For the first time, he made some mistakes during the race, and Alex took advantage of that. He took the lead on lap 4 and stayed ahead until lap 22. This meant Marc had to push hard to take back the lead.

There was also a change in the third-place podium position, as Franco Morbidelli took the spot, marking the first time this season that Bagnaia missed out on the podium.

Despite Ducati’s upgrades possibly giving Marc and Bagnaia an advantage, Marc is convinced that Alex will be his biggest threat for the title. After Argentina, Marc leads the standings by 16 points, with Alex in second place.

“Alex is going to win some races this year, more than one!” Marc said. “I know that when he’s confident, he can win a world championship—he’s done it before in Moto3 and Moto2. He’s my main opponent for the title.”

Marc was also impressed by his brother’s riding style. “He was super smooth, super fast, always carrying corner speed. At one point, I thought, ‘Wow, he’s on another level today.’ There were moments when I told myself, ‘Second place is good enough.’ But in the end, I took some big risks and managed to win.”

Alex, meanwhile, isn’t thinking too much about the title yet. But he knows he is riding better than ever.

“I’ve never felt this strong in MotoGP,” Alex said. “I’m really enjoying the bike and everything I’m doing. We just need to keep this momentum going.”

With both Marquez brothers in top form, this season is shaping up to be super exciting!