Francesco Bagnaia proved he has a strong bond with Marc Marquez in unseen chat at the Americas Grand Prix

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Francesco Bagnaia put the first dent into Marc Marquez’s title chances at Ducati by winning the Grand Prix of the Americas.

The Italian finally got off the mark in 2025 in Austin after a challenging start to the season. Teammate Marquez had won every race and topped every session going into round three.

With Marquez being the most successful rider at COTA, he was fully expected to dominate again. After taking pole position and the Sprint win, it looked like normality would resume.

However, the Spaniard crashed out from the lead on lap nine after riding too high on the wet curb at turn four. Bagnaia took the lead and claimed his first win of the season from the second row of the grid.

The Americas Grand Prix has not typically been a strong event for the two-time MotoGP champion. Davide Tardozzi says Bagnaia found ‘confidence’ in Austin to explain his dramatic transformation.

Bagnaia was ‘angry’ coming into COTA after offering little competition to Marquez in Thailand and Argentina – he wants to establish himself as the top Ducati rider. While many have touted the duo as rivals, their bond is much stronger than many may think.

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

Francesco Bagnaia discussed the controversial aborted start with Marc Marquez in unseen chat in Austin

Bagnaia says Marquez’s arrival to Ducati is ‘beautiful’ and he is looking to play fair with his teammate and establish a good relationship. That was proven in Austin in an unseen conversation between the Ducati riders after the race.

The Grand Prix start was aborted after Marquez and several other riders ran into the pits to change bikes with slick tyres. Only three riders started on dry tyres while the rest went for wets due to the pre-race rain shower.

Controversially, no one was penalised for dashing into the pits. Under the rules, more than 10 riders can change bikes in the pits to get an aborted start – but it was exactly 10 that ran in, which should have resulted in pitlane starts.

Marquez later said he deliberately went to the pits knowing others would follow him. Bagnaia was one of them, who discussed the ordeal with the ‘smart’ Spaniard via the official MotoGP YouTube channel.

“It was all dry. I had the dry bike, but with the wet tyres. One lap lasts a lifetime like that,” he said to Marquez.

“I thought: ‘I’ve got to go, I’ve got to go…’ Then I saw you running off, and I thought: ‘He’s usually smart, he knows what he’s doing. I’ll go too!’

“But when I got to my box, I handed him my bottle, got on my bike and then the lights came on,” He then proceeds to breath heavily, hinting that he felt a penalty was coming his way.

“But I was kind of happy when they said: ‘Stop everything!” he added.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend

Francesco Bagnaia’s relationship with Marc Marquez is completely different to Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi had offered Bagnaia ‘advice’ before the Americas Grand Prix. It seemed to have paid off after the VR46 protege claimed his first win of the season.

Rossi would no doubt have been delighted with the result in Austin. The legendary rider had a fierce rivalry with Marquez during their Yamaha and Honda days.

The bitterness of their conflict is still felt today with Marquez’s Ducati teammate having close ties to Rossi. Bagnaia’s father says fans hate his son because of the rivalry.

But while Rossi looked to antagonise and spread hatred amongst fans, Scott Redding says Bagnaia has a completely different approach to Marquez. He has respect for the Spaniard after he condemned boos towards him at a private event.