Michael Laverty shares what Ducati insiders have told him about Francesco Bagnaia’s next MotoGP upgrade

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Francesco Bagnaia continues to lack pace on Ducati’s GP25 bike and it’s making his 2025 MotoGP championship charge very difficult.

The Italian rider failed to capitalise on teammate Marc Marquez’s critical Grand Prix of Spain mistake, finishing third behind Alex Marquez and Fabio Quartararo.

It means that Bagnaia now trails the MotoGP championship leader Alex by 20 points, despite being yet to be involved in an incident of his own.

Pressure is building on Ducati to find a solution for the two-time champion, who has suddenly dropped off the pace since Marc joined the team over the winter.

MotoGP fans blamed Bagnaia for Marquez’s crash and believe that pressure played a factor for the first time this season.

However, Bagnaia’s ‘big limitation’ was exposed again on Sunday, and he just cannot appear to be comfortable in dirty air, making overtaking difficult.

READ MORE: Herve Poncharal wonders whether one Ducati decision may have ‘destabilised’ Francesco Bagnaia in 2025

Michael Laverty reveals Ducati upgrade for Francesco Bagnaia at Jerez testing

The first of three in-season MotoGP tests will take place at Jerez on Monday, as teams begin to experiment with their 2025 bikes.

It offers Ducati an opportunity to find a solution for Bagnaia’s problems, with a risk-free scenario to experiment with.

TNT Sports’ Michael Laverty revealed that the team will be bringing a new aerodynamic package to Spain for the 28-year-old to test.

“I’ve got to say, Pecco still isn’t happy, he’s not comfortable,” he said. “Tomorrow is a big day for him. I’ve heard there may be a new aero body to test from the Ducati factory team.”

If it works, it will come at a vital time as the European leg of the campaign boots into action, with lots of slow and tight tracks.

Bagnaia will be expected to get closer to his teammate, and if he fails to, then rumours about his future at Ducati will only get louder.

READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia thankful that MotoGP fans now know the truth after his words about Marc Marquez were twisted

Can Francesco Bagnaia recover from his poor start to the 2025 MotoGP season?

The pressure is truly on Bagnaia now to find a solution to his problems in dirty air. He knows he won’t win a third title this year if his current form continues.

At some stage, Marquez will probably stop making mistakes too, which will only make life even harder. The gap will continue to grow.

Bagnaia knows it’s ‘very difficult’ to beat Marquez, but that’s exactly what will do his legacy good. If he beats him, it’ll go down in history.

If it becomes too overwhelming, Alex is waiting in the wings at Gresini and is faster on an older specification of bike.

He could be knocking on the door for a ride with the team in the future, and a whole lot sooner than may have been anticipated before the start of the season.