Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia has been a Ducati man since 2018, having signed for the Bologna Bullets while he was racing in Moto2 before becoming a two-time MotoGP champion.
The 28-year-old also proclaimed in 2022 after signing a new contract at Ducati that Bagnaia would happily see out the remainder of his career in MotoGP in Borgo Panigale. He also put pen to another new deal in March 2024 which tied the Italian down at Ducati through 2026.
Bagnaia did not take long to justify Ducati’s backing in 2018, as well, as the Turin native won that term’s Moto2 title riding for VR46. He then graduated to the premier class for the 2019 MotoGP season with Pramac, before Bagnaia later secured his promotion to Ducati in 2021.
Yet despite the Italian even securing Ducati’s first riders’ championship since Casey Stoner’s 2007 title in the 2022 campaign, and also lifting back-to-back titles in the 2023 season, the mood in Borgo Panigale has changed since the arrival of Marc Marquez for the 2025 season.
Ducati are ‘running out of patience’ with Francesco Bagnaia saying the GP25 does not work
Marquez goes into this weekend’s Aragon Grand Prix leading the 2025 riders’ championship with 196 points. Gresini star Alex Marquez ranks second with 172 points, while Bagnaia is a distant third with only 124 points – leaving him nearer to Franco Morbidelli in fourth on 98.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
It is not only the results that Marquez has secured since stepping up from Gresini that have brought about a change of mood in Borgo Panigale, though. AS reports Ducati are ‘running out of patience’ with Bagnaia’s excuses about why their GP25 does not suit his riding style.
Bagnaia has pleaded with Ducati for help with improving his feeling on their GP25, with the Italian unable to ride around issues like Marquez. VR46 boss Uccio Salucci sees Bagnaia’s problems with Ducati’s front fork, as he cannot gain confidence on the Bologna Bullets’ bike.
But Ducati now feel Bagnaia keeps making excuses by claiming the GP25, “Isn’t working the way we want it to.” So, while he has crashed out of the same number of races as Marquez, the Bologna Bullets judge Bagnaia’s errors notably harsher than the 32-year-old’s mistakes.
Francesco Bagnaia does not like Ducati’s longer front fork on their 2025 MotoGP bike
Ducati’s front fork is Bagnaia’s biggest problem with the GP25 after the Borgo Panigale crew designed a longer fork for their 2025 bike than the one he liked on the GP24 last season. He also cannot fit the 2024 fork on his 2025 bike, which let the wheel and steering move easily.
Marquez did not experience the GP24’s shorter front fork as he rode a GP23 at Gresini in the 2024 MotoGP season after leaving Honda for the satellite Ducati team. So, he has not had to readapt his style as much as Bagnaia has, and thus been able to find more pace with Ducati.
Ducati celebrated as Marquez won the first six Sprint Races this year, along with three of the first four Grands Prix. Bagnaia seized on Marquez crashing in the lead of the Americas GP to win at COTA for what remains the Italian’s only victory in any race format so far this season.
Anything but the win at the Aragon GP or the Italian Grand Prix on June 22 could even prove costly with doubts surrounding Bagnaia’s future at Ducati, despite having a contract for next year. He has only scored four points in the past two rounds with P6 in the Silverstone Sprint.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
