Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia is struggling at Ducati in 2025. The Italian is finding it difficult to adapt to the GP25 as teammate Marc Marquez dominates the championship.
Despite enjoying his best start to a MotoGP season, Bagnaia’s performances have been lacking compared to other Ducati riders. Marquez has won nine out of 12 races in 2025, while his teammate has grabbed just one in Austin.
Having finished third six times thus far, Bagnaia has been largely outperformed by Alex Marquez on the year-old GP24. The two-time MotoGP champion is struggling to find a feeling in the front end of the bike and braking.
Davide Tardozzi disagrees with Bagnaia about the bike, stating that it has improved, while the 28-year-old finds it hard to see the improvements. Marquez is being favoured over Bagnaia at Ducati as he seems to have adapted seamlessly.
Cal Crutchlow does not think Bagnaia is better or worse in 2025, but rather, he is facing a monumental challenge as Marquez’s teammate. The Italian is already 51 points behind after six races and he is running out of time to close the gap.
Pedro Acosta ‘highly doubts’ Ducati will drop Francesco Bagnaia amid 2025 struggles
Le Mans was Bagnaia’s worst weekend of the season. The Ducati rider crashed out in the Sprint and was hit by Enea Bastianini on lap one in the main race.
The Italian limped home 16th in what was a nightmare weekend by his own admission. The pressure is beginning to mount on Bagnaia from inside Ducati.
Fans think Luigi Dall’Igna has lost faith in Bagnaia after seeing his telling reaction to the rider’s Sprint crash. The Ducati chief had criticised the 28-year-old for performing below expectations at Jerez.
Bagnaia’s struggles have prompted wild rumours that Ducati could look to move him on. But KTM rider Pedro Acosta ‘highly doubts’ that will happen, stating that he would trade his results for the 28-year-old’s.
“I highly doubt they’d break a contract with a rider who won a title for them after a long time and then only defended it because the first six races of the year didn’t go too well,” he told Motosan.
“I’d be willing to trade his results this year for mine. However, divorces happen even in the best of marriages.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
Ducati already have their riders lined up for the future when Marc Marquez retires
Dall’Igna says Bagnaia deserves ‘respect’ for being an ‘exceptional’ person since joining Ducati. But it is clear that the Italian has to improve if he wants to stand any chance of winning the 2025 title.
There is still time to recover his form, but the GP24 riders are beginning to establish an advantage. Fermin Aldeguer is starting to match Bagnaia after an impressive run of form in recent races.
Alex Marquez has looked stronger than the Italian in 2025, which could line him up for the factory seat. Marquez’s manager says the door could ‘open’ at Ducati if his form continues.
Aldeguer is also eyeing a move to the factory team in 2027, with Marc Marquez and Bagnaia’s contracts up in 2026. The 20-year-old has been impressive for Gresini in recent races, giving Dall’Igna every reason to promote Aldeguer in the near future.
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