Marc Marquez quickly had to do some ‘PR spin’ after one comment about Francesco Bagnaia at Italian Grand Prix

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Marc Marquez beat Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia at the Grand Prix of Italy on Saturday. Bagnaia made the anticipated improvement, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the championship leader.

Bagnaia felt he’d made a breakthrough with his Ducati bike at the last race in Aragon, where he finished third after a dismal Sprint. He arrived at Mugello with renewed confidence, but also under pressure given his imperious record at the circuit.

The two-time world champion has won the last three Italian GPs. He knows that any slim title ambitions may be gone for good if he doesn’t take victory here.

Bagnaia confirmed that he’s made a step forward with the GP25 by qualifying second – his best grid slot of the year. He was just six-hundredths behind Marquez, who set the new lap record on what was expected to be one of his weaker circuits.

Marc Marquez had to backtrack after saying he ‘doesn’t care’ about Francesco Bagnaia points

Speaking to the media after Friday’s practice sessions, Marquez initially said that he ‘didn’t care’ about potentially losing points to Bagnaia at the Italian Grand Prix. 93 points separate the Ducati duo, with Alex Marquez far closer to Marc (32).

The 2013 debutant quickly realised how these comments would be interpreted and, in the words of The Race’s Simon Patterson, carried out some ‘PR spin’.

Marquez clarified that he wasn’t discounting Bagnaia in the standings despite the huge margin. But his priority for now is extending his lead over Alex.

Bagnaia has only won one race this season, and that came after Marquez went down at the Americas GP. He last took pole at the 2024 season finale in Barcelona.

Were Ducati secretly cheering on Pecco Bagnaia at the Italian Grand Prix?

Relations inside the Ducati garage appear to be healthy. That may be because the two riders have rarely battled on track.

Indeed, it was telling that Bagnaia planned to ask Marquez for advice about Ducati’s developments on Friday. They wouldn’t necessarily be so open with one another if they were in direct competition.

Team manager Davide Tardozzi celebrated when Bagnaia took provisional pole late in Q2. And the cameras captured him looking rather underwhelmed as Marquez displaced him.

Tardozzi could be forgiven for subconsciously favouring Bagnaia this weekend. It’s highly unlikely that he beats Marquez in the championship, but a victory on home soil could be a transformative boost.