Francesco Bagnaia has hailed Jorge Martin's remarkable resurgence in the 2025 MotoGP season as "admirable," with the reigning champion drawing striking parallels between Martin's current form and the strategy that won him the 2024 title.

Martin delivered a masterclass at the French Grand Prix last weekend, dominating both the sprint race and the main event after a tricky qualifying session. The performance has propelled him to within just one point of his Aprilia teammate Marco Bezzecchi in the championship standings—a stunning turnaround from a nightmare debut season with the team.

For context, Martin's 2024 campaign was a masterclass in consistency. While Bagnaia won more races, it was Martin's ability to bank points week after week—even when he didn't have the fastest bike—that ultimately secured him the crown in a dramatic Valencia finale. That same cool-headed approach is now on full display again.

"He's clearly a title contender," Bagnaia told Motorsport.com. "He's using the same strategy he used in 2024—finishing every race. Here, he finished every race first. But in general, he's also very good at knowing when to settle for less. That's a plus. I lost the world championship to him for that very reason."

The Italian recalled a telling moment from the race weekend: "When I saw him on Saturday, we both had lunch in the hospitality area. He looked very relaxed. He knew he could do it, and he did."

Martin's early 2025 form stands in stark contrast to his injury-plagued first season with Aprilia, during which he suffered four separate injuries, struggled for bike performance, and even explored triggering an early exit clause in his contract. Bagnaia noted the scale of that adversity: "Last year was very tough for him. I think he had 21 fractures. So, having the strength to come back to this level is admirable. Congratulations to him and especially to Aprilia, which gave him incredible support."

Gresini's Alex Marquez echoed those sentiments, saying Martin's riding now evokes memories of his dominant Ducati days, when he and Bagnaia operated on a level above the rest of the field. "It is impressive," Marquez said. "When you see him riding, you see that he has regained his confidence completely. After multiple surgeries, to come back and ride like this—it's special to watch."

With Martin now firmly back in title contention and looking every bit the champion who outdueled Bagnaia in 2024, the 2025 MotoGP season is shaping up to be another classic showdown between two of the sport's finest talents.