Five MotoGP seats remain formally unfilled for the 2026 season - but next year's grid appears to have finally taken shape during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend at Balaton Park, pending only the official announcements.
Here's what emerged in the paddock about the final question marks of the silly season during and around the Hungary weekend.
Moreira makes his choice
Now set to be the only rookie in the MotoGP roster next year, Diogo Moreira had been picking between the series' two Japanese manufacturers and their respective satellite seats.
He is now widely understood to have made a choice in favour of Honda, which means he will take over the LCR ride currently belonging to Somkiat Chantra - who is in the middle of a long knee injury absence.
It is not clear how the introduction of a Brazilian rider will impact the Idemitsu sponsorship of the entry, which was previously seemingly contingent on an Asian rider being on the bike.
Moreira, who was known to be prioritising a long-term deal, is thought by The Race to have turned down a Yamaha deal for a Pramac seat because it wouldn't offer him the factory promotion guarantees he wanted.
The end of the Chantra experiment
The writing appeared to be on the wall for Chantra's continuation at LCR even before he went down with a training injury - with the general feeling that he was being overwhelmed by the 1000cc RC213V machine and rumblings that application was considered to be lacking by those making the decisions on his future.
Chantra had a solid enough start to his MotoGP tenure in the pre-season but wasn't really competitive in the early rounds, with any hopes of progress first hindered by the need to get arm pump surgery and now this right knee ligament injury.
"He has the speed, but in some points, some areas, he missed…still he was using like the Moto2 style," said Honda tester Takaaki Nakagami, who had advised Chantra during his last weekend before the injury.
"I think his mind understands that he needs to change completely to the MotoGP style, but in some areas still not enough. Like, small corners, changes of direction.
"The timing is wrong. Maybe he enters too fast and then he just misses the exit because in MotoGP it's really important how you pick up the bike, and you gain the speed. Even, like, 10 metres. But also the changes of direction, he delays."
Honda has now clearly decided the 26-year-old will not make enough gains to justify persevering.
Miller's frustration soothed and career extended
Pramac Yamaha incumbent Jack Miller opened the Hungary weekend with a bit of a rant towards the manufacturer and its lack of a final decision over its 2026 roster.
Most telling among his comments was reference to "more names you hear coming onto the list" making Miller feel unwanted by his current employer.
Those "names" appear to have been one name in particular, Moto2 championship leader Manu Gonzalez, who previously hadn't been on Yamaha's radar as it had chased Moreira.
But Miller appeared a lot more relaxed about his future during the rest of the weekend, and every indication now is that he's been preferred to Gonzalez.
"I think I will stay with the [Intact GP Moto2] team," Gonzalez confirmed on Sunday. "I am super happy to stay here."
The 23-year-old Spaniard added: "We were trying to go to MotoGP but it's not easy." He also revealed he'd already had a "small opportunity" for the premier class last year with Gresini - and that it not coming off "changed my mentality" and helped him focus "on what is in my hands".
Miller's apparent extension effectively confirms Miguel Oliveira's MotoGP exit, with Oliveira's next move unclear. A MotoGP test rider gig with Aprilia is thought to be on the table, but 30-year-old Oliveira is on record as being less-than-enthused by the idea of giving up full-time racing at this point in his career.
The trio just waiting for the press release
Other seats formally remain open at VR46 Ducati, Honda and LCR Honda, but realistically the outcome in all three cases has been clear for either weeks or months.
At VR46, Franco Morbidelli will continue in 2026, as has long been the stated preference of both himself and the team bosses.
In fact, Morbidelli revealed in Hungary that he had news about his future. "But they told me it’s still not time to speak about it. I would like to speak about it - but at the moment I cannot.”
As for Honda, nominal free agent Luca Marini said an announcement was "super close" and "don't worry".
It was long known - specifically, since Jorge Martin decided to stay at Aprilia - that both Marini and Johann Zarco will stay on at Honda, but questions remained over whether Honda would prefer to switch Zarco from LCR to the factory team.
But while Zarco is Honda's top rider since the start of 2024 and has publicly made some noises that suggest he may be interested in a switch to a red factory bike, this was never seen as particularly likely - and even less so now that Zarco's hit a bit of a rough patch on a slightly older-spec RC213V while Marini has thrived since his return to injury.
The expectation is still a one-year deal for Marini in the factory team and a two-year deal for Zarco that he will at least begin at LCR.
Pol Espargaro's World Superbike flirtation
This doesn't impact the full-time grid - with Pol Espargaro not in contention for that and having admitted also that a full-on MotoGP return is "not something that I want, for me and also for my family".
However, it would've had an impact on KTM's test plans of which Espargaro is a major part.
Very competitive in his MotoGP stand-in appearances at Brno and now at the Balaton Ring, Espargaro was rumoured to have sought out World Superbike Championship options and pointed out to media he never "retired" so had "all my futures open".
In particular, it was rumoured that he had reached out to the Ducati World Superbike team as a potential replacement for Alvaro Bautista.
But it was reported during the weekend, by Italian outlet GPone, that Ducati and Espargaro couldn't agree on financial terms and that Ducati has signed another former Tech3 KTM rider Iker Lecuona for the seat instead - a deal duly announced on Monday morning.
Provisional MotoGP 2025 grid
Ducati
Marc Marquez
Pecco Bagnaia
Gresini Ducati
Alex Marquez
Fermin Aldeguer
VR46 Ducati
Franco Morbidelli
Fabio Di Giannantonio
KTM
Pedro Acosta
Brad Binder
Tech3 KTM
Maverick Vinales
Enea Bastianini
Aprilia
Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin
Trackhouse Aprilia
Raul Fernandez
Ai Ogura
Honda
Luca Marini
Joan Mir
LCR Honda
Johann Zarco
Diogo Moreira
Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo
Alex Rins
Pramac Yamaha
Jack Miller
Toprak Razgatlioglu
