Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia is bordering on no longer being considered a MotoGP championship contender in 2025 after failing to capitalise on another huge Marc Marquez error.
The Italian rider had a massive opportunity to close the gap in the MotoGP standings, and left the Grand Prix of Spain with third position to show for his efforts.
Bagnaia is under more pressure than ever to cure his Ducati woes and beat his teammate fair and square on track – something he’s yet to do.
Marc Marquez has won eight races and crashed out of the two he hasn’t won. His form hasn’t been good enough for the championship lead and he sits one point behind brother Alex at the top.
Ducati insiders say Bagnaia’s next upgrade is coming and that he can expect to test a new aerodynamic body at the first in-season test at Jerez.
The consensus now appears to be that Bagnaia and Ducati are missing speed more than anything else, and they are running out of time to address the issue. His teammate won’t make mistakes forever.
Francesco Bagnaia is suffering his ‘worst nightmare’ in MotoGP after the Spanish Grand Prix
Despite being yet to finish lower than fourth in any Grand Prix, the two-time champion has been open about his struggles. He should be doing better on a dominant bike.
Bagnaia’s ‘big limitation’ at Ducati has been his lack of production in dirty air. He cannot find the speed to overtake.
Peter Bom believes that the situation is about as bad as it could be for the 28-year-old now and pointed out his main problem currently.
“He is in a very bad situation, he is in probably his worst nightmare anyway. Pecco did everything he can, but this is it at the moment.
“This is Pecco Bagnaia and he gets beaten a couple of races in a row, by literally his old, last year’s own bike, by the brother of his biggest enemy.
“Alex could bring the fight to Fabio just because he had one [or] two tenths pace and if you use that cleverly and decisively fast, you’re past him. That’s the lap time that Pecco just can’t do at the moment.”
Is Francesco Bagnaia at risk of losing his factory Ducati ride in MotoGP?
It seems crazy to mention that after just five races alongside his new teammate, Bagnaia could be at risk of losing his place in the team.
However, it’s more about how the other Marquez is performing, which may be a threat to his tenure with the Italian manufacturer.
Alex leads the championship on a satellite Gresini bike, which is one year older than both Ducati machines that he is competing against currently.
He’s consistently outperforming Bagnaia and seems to have just as much consistency. He’s starting to turn some heads.
If the current theme continues throughout the campaign, then eventually, questions will be asked about whether the long-term partnership is right at Ducati.
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