Francesco Bagnaia now doesn’t think Ducati will fix critical 2025 issue that was his ‘strongest’ trait last season

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Francesco Bagnaia’s struggles at Ducati in 2025 continued at the Czech Grand Prix as he fell out of the podium positions in both races after securing his first pole of the season.

The Italian failed to reach Q2 automatically at Brno, but he put that behind him quickly on Saturday as Bagnaia took his first pole position of 2025 by two tenths over teammate Marc Marquez.

He looked to keep the Spaniard behind him in the Sprint and got a good launch off the line. However, Bagnaia encountered a tyre pressure issue and relinquished the lead to Marquez, with it later being revealed that he was wrongfully told he had a problem.

His teammate had the same tyre pressure issue as he dropped back behind Pedro Acosta, but the 32-year-old recovered to retake the lead and claim another Sprint win. Michael Laverty felt Marquez may have outsmarted Bagnaia as he knew how to manage the issue better.

The Czech Grand Prix presented another opportunity for Bagnaia, and he again got a good start. But it did not take long for the Ducati star to lose his lead as Marco Bezzecchi and Marquez quickly overwhelmed him.

Francesco Bagnaia does not think Ducati will improve his braking issues in 2025 where he was the ‘strongest’

Bagnaia knew he would ‘struggle’ with braking at Brno after following Marquez during practice. That is exactly what happened as he found it difficult to stop his GP25, eventually being overtaken by KTM riders Pedro Acosta and Enea Bastianini.

After Bastianini crashed out, Bagnaia mounted a late charge to catch Acosta, but it was in vain as he had to settle for fourth. Speaking with Motorsport Italy after the race, he lamented his problems with braking, stating he is now the ‘worst’ after being the ‘strongest’ before riding the GP25.

“I’ve always been the strongest at braking, very difficult to overtake under braking. When someone tried, they often went wide,” he said.

“But now I’m the worst at braking, everyone passes me. I’ve always based my performance on braking, and now I can’t perform at that level. It’s something that limits me both in terms of riding and speed.”

Ducati have been working hard to help Bagnaia find improvements on the bike. However, he now does not believe the Borgo Panigale outfit will fix his brake problems.

He added: “I think it comes from the DNA of this bike, and it’s really hard to change. I don’t think we’ll improve this during the season. Maybe we’ll be able to understand something more during the end-of-year tests, but for now, this is the situation, and we certainly won’t improve.

“I’ll be able to try to adapt and go fast in other ways. Besides, the next race is in Austria, on a track where I’ve always made a huge difference to everyone, so we’ll see if we can figure something out.”

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

Francesco Bagnaia is losing more confidence in the GP25

With Marquez claiming yet another double victory in 2025, he now leads the championship by 120 points after Alex Marquez crashed out in the early stages. Bagnaia is now a staggering 168 points behind his Ducati teammate, with second now being the best he can fight for.

Bagnaia gave himself a six out of 10 for his performances in the first half of the season, which he would have lowered to five if he took 2024 into account. He won 11 out of 20 races last year, but finished runner-up to Jorge Martin.

The Italian’s performances have not been terrible, with podium finishes being regular. However, his teammate Marquez has been on another level in 2025 and has adapted better to the GP25, while Bagnaia constantly complains about a lack of ‘feeling’.

MotoGP legend Jorge Lorenzo said the gap between Marquez and Bagnaia was ‘abysmal’ at the Sachsenring. Many anticipated a close battle between the Ducati riders in 2025, but the latter has been completely dominated.