Ducati insider feels Francesco Bagnaia has ‘recognised’ one thing that could change the MotoGP title fight

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Francesco Bagnaia heads into the 2025 Grand Prix of Qatar sat third in the MotoGP standings, with the Ducat rider trailing Alex and Marc Marquez by 12 and 11 points.

The 28-year-old has penned his best start to a MotoGP season to date this term, with a 75-point haul after three rounds. But the dominant start that Marc Marquez has enjoyed racing for the factory Ducati team and the form of Alex Marquez at Gresini has put Bagnaia behind.

Alex Marquez leads the MotoGP standings for the first time in the 28-year-old’s career going into this weekend’s race at Lusail. The 2019 Moto2 champion edged a point ahead of his 32-year-old brother when Marc Marquez crashed in the lead in America and eventually retired.

His retirement in Austin saw Marc fail to get any points for the first time this season. The six-time MotoGP champion had started his factory Ducati career with Marquez winning the first three Sprint and two Grands Prix from pole position, with Alex coming second in each event.

Francesco Bagnaia ‘recognised’ he must take the points on offer after Jorge Martin won the 2024 MotoGP title

Bagnaia struggled to match the Marquez brothers’ pace at Buriram or Termas and was set to follow Marc home in Austin before the Spaniard fell. He got P3 in both races in Thailand plus the Sprint in Argentina (where he took P4 in the Grand Prix) and P3 in the Sprint in America.

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

But Ducati rider coach Manuel Poggiali feels Bagnaia’s consistency through the early rounds came from recognising after losing out on the 2024 riders’ title to Jorge Martin that the two-time champion must sometimes take the points on offer, rather than crashing chasing more.

Poggiali told Moto.it: “He certainly clearly recognised [that] maybe [in] some circumstances and that even if you are fast, unfortunately you don’t take home one, nor five, nor 10, nor 25 points lost. So, this certainly has an impact in terms of the general classification.

“Last year in particular, in my opinion, we had proof of this aspect. Even though we were probably the fastest in many races and we won a lot, but unfortunately in the end we were not able to obtain the most important result.

“So, in light of this experience, in my opinion, he has done – is doing – the right path and is getting the most out of every circumstance and in any case the maximum in terms of points, when you take them home, it is always something more than leaving them on the road.”

Francesco Bagnaia won 11 of 2024’s 20 Grands Prix but Jorge Martin won the title by 10 points

No rider won more Grands Prix than Bagnaia last year with the Ducati star taking the victory in 11 of the 20 staged. The Italian further won seven Sprint Races last term. But Bagnaia still lost out on the 2024 riders’ title to Martin riding a satellite Ducati with Pramac by 10 points.

Martin only won three Grands Prix last year plus seven Sprint Races but his consistency was the difference compared to Bagnaia. The 27-year-old only retired from two Grands Prix and took points in all other races including in second place 10 times and third place three times.

Bagnaia, on the other hand, retired from three Grands Prix, took just one second place and came third four times. Martin further scored points in all but two Sprint Races and Bagnaia did not in five. But Bagnaia learned from last year’s near miss and has come back stronger.

The Turin native using the pain from Martin winning the 2024 title to come back stronger in Bagnaia’s bid to add to his titles from 2022 and 2023 is not surprising. Bagnaia’s mistakes in 2024 haunted his honeymoon over the winter and is now battling with Marc Marquez, too.