Neil Hodgson says winless MotoGP rider would be an upgrade on Francesco Bagnaia amid German Grand Prix woes

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Francesco Bagnaia equalled his worst qualifying performance of the season at the Grand Prix of Germany on Friday. The Ducati rider will start the two races from 11th on the grid.

With Maverick Vinales crashing out early on, Bagnaia was the slowest of the riders who completed Q3. He was just under two seconds off the pace set by teammate Marc Marquez.

Bagnaia, who hasn’t had a pole position this season, seemed to be making progress over a single lap after back-to-back P2 starts at Mugello and Assen. But he’s now slipped back onto the fourth row.

The German Grand Prix marks the halfway point of the season, and there’s no sign of Bagnaia making a lasting breakthrough. He enters this race closer to Fabio Quartararo in 11th (114 points) than he is to championship leader Marquez (126).

Neil Hodgson says Pedro Acosta would be doing a better job than Francesco Bagnaia

Bagnaia retains the full support of Ducati, and there’s no immediate prospect of him losing his ride. His contract runs until the end of next year.

But if there’s more of the same for the two-time world champion in 2026, then there’s bound to be speculation.

Pedro Acosta has been linked with VR46, currently Ducati’s second-in-command satellite team. Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage from the Sachsenring, Neil Hodgson suggested the winless Spaniard would be an upgrade.

“If you’re being totally honest, being true to yourself, sitting here now, do you think he’s better than Alex Marquez?” he said. “I’d have to say yes.

“If you put Pedro on a factory Ducati, he would do a better job right now than Bagnaia. There you go. I’ve said that.”

Acosta scored five podiums in his rookie MotoGP season and currently leads the KTM riders in the championship with 98 points (29 more than next-best Maverick Vinales). He qualified fifth on Saturday, one of his best showings of the year.

Why Pecco Bagnaia said sorry to Ducati before the German Grand Prix

One theory is that Marquez could push Ducati to sign his brother for 2027. Alex has been his nearest challenger this year and clearly the second-best rider in the stable.

Bagnaia has faced exactly the kind of psychological challenges one would expect from a rider who knows he can be so much better.

After the previous round in the Netherlands, Bagnaia apologised to his Ducati engineers. He’s been trying to find his own solutions, but is now more inclined to listen to the team.

Bagnaia’s father has noticed a change in his posture on the bike. His slogan is ‘Go Free’, but there are times when he looks anything but natural on the GP25.