Francesco Bagnaia’s 2025 MotoGP performances deserve more respect and one stat proves it

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Much has been made of Francesco Bagnaia’s start to the 2025 MotoGP season. There is no denying that Ducati teammate Marc Marquez has established a clear advantage.

The Spaniard has dominated the opening two races, grabbing pole position and wins in the Sprint and Grand Prix in Thailand and Argentina.

Marquez’s main rival in 2025 thus far has been his brother Alex Marquez, who is riding the GP24. Despite riding a year-old spec bike to Bagnaia – although the Italian has referred to his machine as the ‘GP24.9’ – the Ducati rider has struggled to keep up.

Bagnaia was 5.5 seconds behind Marquez at the Argentina Grand Prix, finishing fourth. Marquez is already 31 points ahead of his teammate heading into Austin, leaving many to speculate the two-time MotoGP champion is cracking under pressure.

However, Michael Laverty thinks ‘everyone’ is wrong about Bagnaia as he praised his resilience in Argentina. He recovered from scraping through to Q2 in practice in 10th to finish third in the Sprint.

When looking at the numbers, Bagnaia is still in the title picture with 20 rounds still to go. In fact, his start to the season is much better than many may think.

Francesco Bagnaia has matched his best points tally after two races in 2025

Since making his debut with Pramac in MotoGP in 2019, Bagnaia has never started a season particularly strongly. In four of his seven seasons so far, he has retired at least once in the first two races.

Finishing third in Thailand and fourth in Argentina – third in both Sprints – is not great compared to Marquez. He is already some distance away from his Ducati teammate in the standings, but in actuality, that start is the joint-best of his career.

Bagnaia’s 43 points so far in 2025 have matched his start to the 2023 season after Portugal and Argentina. Winning the former’s Sprint and Grand Prix, the Italian claimed his second title that season.

In 2024, the 28-year-old scored 37 points after Qatar and Portugal – winning the former and retiring from the latter. Bagnaia lost the title to Jorge Martin last year by 10 points and is determined to reclaim his crown in 2025.

Marquez’s start to the season is alarming, however, with many not seeing a way he can be stopped. Carlo Pernat cannot see anyone beating Marquez while he is on the factory Ducati bike.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number

Francesco Bagnaia is under pressure from Ducati to deliver – can he handle it?

Bagnaia seemed ‘relaxed’ after the race in Argentina despite Marquez’s dominance. The Italian still sees himself in the title picture and is not getting too downbeat.

However, what is happening on the other side of the garage cannot be ignored. Ducati engineers are already gravitating towards Marquez with his results – Bagnaia has to do something sooner rather than later if he wants his third MotoGP title.

The problem is the next race in Austin is a strong track for Marquez and many will expect another win. Luigi Dall’Igna says Bagnaia cannot aim for third – he could be over 40 points behind his teammate by that point.

Davide Tardozzi says Bagnaia will return in Qatar and battle Marquez. The gap between the pair could be substantial come round four, but the Italian’s joint-best start to a MotoGP season will not give him cause for concern.