Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia has been dominated by Marc Marquez at Ducati in the first two rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season.
The Italian was looking to be the main frontrunner for the title this season after losing to Jorge Martin by 10 points in 2024. Bagnaia backs himself to win the championship – but he has found a fierce competitor in his teammate.
Marquez is back on a factory bike this year since leaving Honda in 2023. Sporting the famous red colours of Ducati, the Spaniard has been unstoppable.
The six-time MotoGP champion has claimed pole position, the Sprint win and the Grand Prix win in the first two races in 2025. Marquez is the first Ducati rider in history to achieve this feat.
In Buriram and Termas de Rio Hondo, Bagnaia has offered little competition, finishing seconds behind his teammate. The Italian has even struggled to beat satellite Ducati riders as Alex Marquez has finished ahead of him in both races.
Bagnaia is under immense pressure to find performance, but Ducati chief Davide Tardozzi insists the team ‘trust’ him to turn it around. However, his view on when the two-time champion will challenge Marquez is alarming.
Davide Tardozzi expects Francesco Bagnaia to be ‘back’ fighting Marc Marquez in Qatar
At the Argentina Grand Prix, the Italian narrowly made it into Q2 with 10th after crashing on his final run in free practice. Bagnaia’s crew chief Cristian Gabarrini was ‘nonplussed’ after the session – Mat Oxley had ‘never seen’ this before.
It is clear the 28-year-old’s side of the garage are feeling the pressure from Marquez. While the Spaniard took victory in Argentina, Bagnaia finished off the podium behind his teammate, Alex Marquez and Franco Morbidelli.
Bagnaia was 5.5 seconds behind Marquez come the chequered flag. The Italian seems to have no answer for his teammate at the moment – and Tardozzi may know that too.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
Speaking on TNT Sports after the race, the Ducati boss is certain Bagnaia will be back fighting Marquez in Qatar. This is alarming given the gap between the riders already, which could extend even more with the Circuit of the Americas being next – a strong track for the Spaniard.
“I just spoke with Pecco, he had a small, small problem on the bike that didn’t give him the right feeling on the left corner. But in the end, we trust me and we wait for him [for] one or two more races and I’m sure that he will be back,” said Tardozzi.
“We know that COTA is kind of a green park for Marc Marquez. But Qatar, we expect that Pecco will be there fighting with him.”
What Francesco Bagnaia ‘has to’ do to beat Marc Marquez
Bagnaia is now 31 points behind Marquez after Argentina. The Italian must find another gear soon if he is serious about mounting a challenge for the 2025 title.
Bagnaia looked to take Pol Espargaro’s advice about starting weekends stronger from the off. That did not come to fruition at Termas as the 28-year-old was even further back to Marquez than he was in Buriram.
His issue with the GP25 in the left turns will not have helped matters. Bagnaia has a ‘pact’ with Marquez to learn his secrets in the left-hand corners – this will be vital for the Italian.
Mick Doohan says Bagnaia ‘has to’ find motivation from the pressure being placed on him at Ducati. The Bologna-based outfit – and the 28-year-old himself – will expect stronger performances sooner rather than later.
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