Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia arrives at the Grand Prix of Italy targeting victory. There have been very few races this season where the Ducati rider has had that level of confidence.
Bagnaia has only won one of the first eight races in 2025. The pre-season expectation was that he’d battle teammate Marc Marquez for the title, but he finds himself in third place – behind Alex – and 93 points off the pace.
That margin may be too large for Bagnaia to win his third title. But the prospect of a fourth consecutive Italian Grand Prix victory is sufficient motivation.
Bagnaia had a desperately poor Sprint race at Aragon last time out, slipping from fourth on the grid to 12th. But he looked revitalised in the race, taking third place and finishing two seconds behind race-winner Marquez.
Fabio di Giannantonio questions whether Ducati brake change is behind Francesco Bagnaia improvement
Bagnaia has attributed his breakthrough to adopting larger brake discs – 350mm compared to 340mm. But VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio, the only satellite rider on a GP25, is ‘not sure’ whether this is the case.
Di Giannantonio suggested ‘swapping bikes’ with Bagnaia because he tried the revised brakes and didn’t feel any improvement. And his suspicions have been raised further by studying his compatriot’s data.
The two riders do have different styles, which may explain their contrasting feedback. Bagnaia has complained about a lack of feeling on this year’s bike, but seemed to rediscover it in Spain.
Asked whether he noticed any difference with the brake discs, Di Giannantonio said (via Motosan): “That’s not the case for me, but if it is for Pecco, it’s working wonders for him. I checked his data, and I’m not sure it was the discs themselves that caused this change. In my case, it wasn’t.”
‘Diggia’ has also struggled on the up-to-date Ducati. He arrives at Mugello fifth in the championship, closer to the Honda of Johann Zarco (two points) than teammate Franco Morbidelli (16).
Why Francesco Bagnaia may not be able to use his new brake discs at Italian Grand Prix
In Thursday’s press conference, Bagnaia said it would be ‘more difficult’ to use the 350mm discs this weekend. He expects Ducati to revert to the 340mm design due to the lower internal temperatures.
But the 28-year-old sounded relaxed about the change, suggesting that the brakes were less important at Mugello than they are at other circuits.
Bagnaia emulates Valentino Rossi’s braking technique and has been widely praised for his strength in this department. However, he’s also adopted elements of Marquez’s approach when it comes to ‘learning the bike’.
He’s been able to work with some of the greatest talents in the history of the sport, and may feel that he’s become a better rider in 2025 despite his poor championship showing.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
