Luigi Dall’Igna is ‘convinced’ Francesco Bagnaia can do what ‘virtually’ no one can against Marc Marquez

Add as preferred source on Google

Marc Marquez has dominated Francesco Bagnaia at Ducati since the six-time MotoGP champion joined the two-time title winner at the Bologna Bullets in the 2025 season.

Ducati welcomed Marquez to Borgo Panigale this year as they sought to run a power pairing after the 32-year-old impressed in his first term on a Desmosedici at Gresini last year. Ducati overlooked Jorge Martin to sign Marquez before he had even won a race on a GP23, as well.

Marquez winning races with Ducati on their GP25 has become far too common for his rivals, including Bagnaia, though. The Spaniard has already won four Grands Prix and seven Sprints when no one else has taken multiple wins in either race format in the 2025 MotoGP season.

Luigi Dall’Igna is ‘convinced’ Francesco Bagnaia is ‘mentally strong enough’ to cope with being Marc Marquez’s teammate

Bagnaia won the Americas Grand Prix after Marquez crashed out of the lead for the 28-year-old’s sole victory so far. The Turin native even heads into the Italian Grand Prix this weekend sat third in the standings, 93 points from Marc and 61 points shy of Alex Marquez of Gresini.

But Ducati general manager Luigi Dall’Igna is ‘convinced’ that Bagnaia can enjoy a strong run of results over the rest of 2025. He still has high hopes for Bagnaia, as the Italian is ‘mentally strong enough’ to cope with being teammates with Marquez like almost no one before him.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number

“Marc has sent virtually all of his teammates home,” Dall’Igna has told GPOne. “But, for me, Pecco is mentally strong enough to handle the pressure, especially in the long run. I remain convinced that he can do well between now and the end of the year.”

Francesco Bagnaia faces being the latest teammate Marc Marquez has beaten in MotoGP

No rider has yet beaten Marquez from within the same garage since Honda gave the Cervera native his MotoGP debut in 2013 and saw him secure the premier class title as a rookie. And Bagnaia faces joining Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, Pol Espargaro and Alex Marquez in 2025.

Only after Marquez sustained a career-threatening injury at Jerez in 2020 has a rider scored more points than the six-time MotoGP champion within the same team. He only contested the Spanish Grand Prix that year alongside his brother Alex Marquez, who scored 74 points.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend

Bagnaia has struggled more than Marquez to adapt to Ducati’s 2025 bike, as the Italian does not feel as comfortable pushing the front of the GP25 as much as the Spaniard. Ducati put a longer front fork on their 2025 bike than last year’s GP24, which suited his riding style more.