MotoGP fans love Francesco Bagnaia’s ‘remarkable’ sportsmanship towards Marc Marquez at Italian Grand Prix

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Marc Marquez has continued his dominance at Ducati at the Grand Prix of Italy. But teammate Francesco Bagnaia is eager to challenge the Spaniard this weekend.

Mugello has been a strong circuit for the Italian in the past, having won the last three events. The #63 rider has struggled to compete with Marquez in 2025, but made a breakthrough at Aragon as Bagnaia’s new brake discs finally gave him feeling from the front of the bike.

Bagnaia has stopped complaining to Ducati about the GP25. Having found confidence from the front end in braking and cornering, he is looking to get his title charge back on track at the Italian Grand Prix.

The 28-year-old looked good for pole position, until Marquez beat his time by 59 thousandths of a second. Davide Tardozzi had a surprise reaction to Bagnaia’s lap as he was seen pumping his fist in the garage, but was more subdued with Marquez, although he could have reacted differently off-camera.

Locking out the top two positions with Alex Marquez third, the Ducati duo displayed their dominance over the rest of the field. After qualifying ended, MotoGP fans saw a brilliant moment between Bagnaia and Marquez.

MotoGP fans love Francesco Bagnaia’s ‘remarkable’ sportsmanship towards Marc Marquez with Italian GP handshake

When Marquez arrived at Ducati, many were quick to talk up an intense rivalry between the Spaniard and Bagnaia. The pair were certain favourites for the title and were bound to fight each other until the very end.

Carlo Pernat says Marquez ‘entered’ Bagnaia’s head when he signed for Ducati. Many have spoken about a friction between the two riders, but the Italian appeared to shut down that rumour at the Italian GP.

After qualifying, Marquez and Bagnaia lined up together to do a practice start, when the pair were seen shaking hands and tapping each other on the arm. In a post on Reddit, several fans lauded the Ducati riders’ sportsmanship and clear working relationship.

“And a lot of people thought there’d be a wall by now,” said one fan, while another simply wrote: “Respect.”

Another user said: “Please take a moment of silence for all the media folk who were wetting themselves in the hope of toxicity between the two teammates! LOL!”

“Pecco is such a character… Nobody would’ve guessed Pecco and Marc’s relation to pan out like this,” wondered one fan. Another user responded: “Both of them have a good character and mutual respect between them is remarkable.”

Finally, one fan did not see any bad blood between the Ducati riders: “People keep saying Pecco is suffering Marc’s presence in the team, but to me it looks like they’re on pretty great terms.

“Honestly, Pecco is probably stoked at the idea to be sharing the box with one of the greatest ever of this sport and is simply trying to learn as much as possible from him.”

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

Marc Marquez still has the upper hand at the Italian Grand Prix despite Francesco Bagnaia’s record

Bagnaia has found performance at Mugello and is a contender for victory. But as the Sprint race proved, Marquez is still the rider to beat.

Bagnaia took the lead at the start after his teammate did not activate his ride height device in time. Despite dropping to fourth, Marquez fought his way back through the field and was back leading by lap five, before going on to claim his eighth Sprint win of the season.

Winning the Sprint at a track where the Spaniard has not gone well in the past highlights his dominance in 2025, but he is aware that he could easily be beaten. Marquez has a damage limitation mentality at Mugello, which could open the door for Bagnaia to pounce.

Luigi Dall’Igna is ‘convinced’ Bagnaia can cope against Marquez amid the pressure surrounding him at Ducati. But as he now sits 98 points behind his teammate ahead of Sunday’s race, he has a huge mountain to climb to catch the Spaniard.