Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia might have found the answer to his struggles at Ducati in 2025 after an impressive ride at the Grand Prix of Aragon.
The Italian has found the jump from the GP24 to the GP25 difficult, as he struggles to find any feeling from the front of the bike. Crashes at Le Mans and Silverstone highlighted his troubles, but the Aragon Grand Prix Sprint was the worst example.
Qualifying a solid P4, Bagnaia fell backwards on Saturday and finished a miserable 12th on merit, while Marc Marquez dominated and won by two seconds. The atmosphere inside the Ducati garage was tense as the Italian returned from a dismal performance.
Bagnaia had a ‘sarcastic’ look towards Ducati as his concerns with the GP25 were reiterated in the Sprint. Ducati were losing patience over the 28-year-old’s constant complaints, but it seems they finally listened on Sunday.
Ducati made significant changes to Bagnaia’s brake discs, which improved confidence when cornering. This proved hugely beneficial for the two-time MotoGP champion as he produced a much stronger ride to finish P3, albeit Marquez commanded the field for his 11th win of 2025, including Sprint races.
Ducati insiders would ‘strongly oppose’ saying Francesco Bagnaia is their number two rider
After eight rounds in 2025, Bagnaia trails Marquez by 93 points. The Spaniard has dominated his teammate since joining Ducati, prompting sensational rumours that Bagnaia is being headhunted by Yamaha.
Pedro Acosta came to Bagnaia’s defence ahead of Aragon, stating that he was the rider who gave Ducati their first title since Casey Stoner in 2007. Acosta ‘highly doubts’ that Bagnaia will be dropped amid his struggles, and it seems the Bologna outfit agree with the KTM rider.
Speaking via The Race MotoGP Podcast, journalist Simon Patterson says Ducati would ‘strongly oppose’ saying Bagnaia is number two to Marquez. They still see what importance he has at the team despite his teammate’s dominance in 2025.
“I feel like Ducati would strongly oppose the suggestion that Pecco is number two as opposed to joint number one,” he said.
“But I think that is still the way they see him, as well. It’s not just relative performance levels. I know they signed Marc Marquez, but this is not signing Dani Pedrosa to sit on the other side of the box and occasionally win a race when Marc falls off.
“This is a double world champion. This is the guy that ended the drought, this is the guy that brought them back to the top and then did it again the following year and proudly wore [the] No.1 plate on their bike.
“And if anything, his position has been strengthened, not weakened, by the fact that the next guy that won a title then immediately defected and rage quit to go to Aprilia.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
What Francesco Bagnaia must do after finally making Ducati breakthrough in 2025
The Aragon GP was arguably the most comfortable Bagnaia has felt on the GP25 all season. It is a hugely encouraging step forward as he looks to get his title hopes back on track.
Kimi Antonelli sent Bagnaia a message on social media after making a breakthrough with Ducati in 2025. The Italian will be keen to keep the momentum going over the next few races.
His ninth podium of the season at Aragon was not enough to close the gap to his rivals. Bagnaia sits third in the standings, 61 points behind Alex Marquez on the GP24.
Davide Tardozzi is not ruling out Bagnaia for the 2025 title, but he must do one thing first. The 28-year-old must catch and beat Alex Marquez before he can challenge his teammate.
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