Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia saw his winning run at the Italian Grand Prix come to an end this Saturday, as Ducati teammate Marc Marquez won the Sprint at Mugello at a canter.
Visits to the rolling hills of Tuscany had seen Bagnaia emerge as the latest master of Mugello in recent years. The Turin native has won his home race in each of the past three runnings of the Italian GP, and Bagnaia also doubled down with Sprint wins at Mugello in 2023 and 2024.
But a third straight Mugello Sprint victory was not on the cards in the 2025 MotoGP season, despite Bagnaia leading at the start. Marquez beat Bagnaia to pole at the 2025 Italian GP by 0.059s, yet issues with his launch control device saw him slip to P8 at the start of the Sprint.
Mugello has rarely been a happy hunting ground for Marquez, with the 32-year-old securing pole position in 2014 and 2019 but only winning the Italian GP in 2014. Yet the Spaniard put his poor start in the 2025 Sprint in the past instantly to run P3 by Lap 2 of 11 and lead on L3.
Jorge Lorenzo urges Francesco Bagnaia to ‘accept’ Ducati’s 2025 MotoGP bike will not change
Bagnaia admits he cannot push the front of Ducati’s 2025 MotoGP bike like Marquez, having watched how his teammate attacks corners on the GP25 during the Mugello Sprint. The pair ultimately finished the 11-lap race 2.561s apart, with Gresini’s Alex Marquez sat in between.
But while Bagnaia has pleaded with Ducati for help and has often noted that the GP25 does not suit his riding style, Jorge Lorenzo believes it is time for the 28-year-old to ‘accept’ that their bike will not come to him. Until then, Lorenzo fears Bagnaia will remain a ‘weak rider’.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
“It’s not been the dream start, and that’s because of that GP25, which doesn’t give him a good feeling,” Lorenzo said on DAZN.
“I’m sure Ducati and Gigi Dall’Igna are putting all their effort into giving the rider greater confidence because a rider without confidence is a weak rider, and not a strong one compared to his rivals.”
He continued: “Little by little, he is trying things out. The bike cannot be changed. Therefore, Pecco has to accept that the bike is not going to change and try to find solutions elsewhere.”
Pecco Bagnaia must adapt to the GP25 or he will keep chasing Marc Marquez’s shadow
It has already been said that Ducati are running out of patience with Bagnaia’s excuses that their GP25 does not work for his riding style. Yet improvements have been hard to come by, and the Italian now trails Marc Marquez by 98 points this year and also Alex Marquez by 35.
Ducati are testing a new fairing to change the balance of their 2025 bike, which Bagnaia and Marquez both trialled at the Italian GP. But Bagnaia is not racing Ducati’s upgraded fairing at Mugello, as the 28-year-old did not feel he had enough time in practice to adjust to the part.
Bagnaia will hope the new fairing helps him challenge Marquez with more time to test their update. He has now seen the Spaniard secure eight Sprint wins from the first nine rounds of the season, and will also be fearing seeing Marquez claim a fifth win this year come Sunday.
Ducati general manager Luigi Dall’Igna is ‘convinced’ Bagnaia can ‘do well’ for the rest of the year. Yet he likely needs the 2022 and 2023 MotoGP champion to follow Lorenzo’s advice, or Bagnaia risks spending the rest of the term chasing Marquez’s shadow time and time again.
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