Àlex Márquez (Ducati Gresini), alongside the Titanic, Red Bull and Ducati Lego sets, at his home in Madrid.
Lego should probably slap a sticker on the amazing (and winning) ‘Desmosedici’ bike of Àlex Márquez – the MotoGP vice-champion and leader of the Gresini Racing Team Ducati. After all, there is no better customer or advertisement than the younger brother from the Márquez family (Cervera, Lleida), who for the past eight years has been a true (some might say obsessive) fan of those colorful, fun little plastic bricks that end up forming objects, buildings, boats, cars, motorcycles, and everyday characters from around the world.
“At the end of the day,” Àlex Márquez told El Periódico as soon as he arrived at the Le Mans circuit, “all I do is entertain myself, distract myself, relax, and play with what millions of children and young people around the world use to entertain, distract, and relax themselves. Nothing more. I try to live the most normal life possible.”
As his brother Marc explains, “He may not remember, but I perfectly recall the day back in 2019 when, purely on a whim—as many of these hobbies start—he saw a small Lego box in a shop window and bought it. He says it helps him disconnect, relax, and forget about bikes, and it’s true. He just won the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez in style, so it works for him. Me? I’m incapable of having that patience, that care, that concentration.”
What began as a simple pastime—assembling Lego structures—has become Àlex Márquez’s best way to unwind and escape the pressure of racing. “I do remember buying that box, though I don’t recall exactly when. I put it together as soon as I got home—nothing complicated—and it caught my attention. I liked it, got hooked. It just seemed incredibly entertaining,” Àlex continues. “From the start of this passion, the idea was that it sounded fun, just another way to kill time and, above all, to disconnect and relax. When I shut myself in the room where I keep my things, the goal is to take a break from my daily routine, which is usually pretty stressful.”
It’s true, and Àlex himself admits with a big smile, and even Marc agrees when I bring it up: everyone around Àlex knows he’s a Lego fanatic. “And what does that mean?” asks Marc, a nine-time world champion. “It means everyone knows exactly what to give him as a gift. Even though it’s a very common, easy, and convenient present, the truth is Àlex loves receiving Lego sets. I never give him one—not because I don’t want to, but because I know everyone else will beat me to it. By the time I give him mine, he’ll have already opened two or three boxes.”
“Actually, around April 23, my birthday (he just turned 30), I usually get a ton of Lego boxes. And yes, I love it, even though it gives me a lot of work,” explains the recent winner of the Spanish Grand Prix, held in Jerez in front of more than 96,000 fans.
Àlex enjoys all kinds of Lego builds, from the simplest to the most complex. He just finished a massive Titanic and also a gigantic Camp Nou. “You see, when the build is large, sometimes you repeat a lot of steps. For example, assembling the stands of Camp Nou is very repetitive, but then when you start putting together the Ducati engine, you have to be more careful, meticulous, and detail-oriented. It’s not as easy—you have to put in effort.”
When Àlex says Lego allows him to disconnect from his routine, he means it. He even jokes that he needs to buy the Messi Lego set soon – a reference to his favorite soccer star’s own building kit. “I have to get that one. It’s on my list,” he adds with a grin. Between motorcycle racing and toy bricks, Àlex Márquez has found a perfect balance: speed on the track, patience at home.
