Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati had vastly contrasting fortunes with their two riders in the Sprint Race at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, as Marc Marquez won but Francesco Bagnaia was 13th.
Balaton Park has proven to be just another playground in the 2025 season for Marquez, who achieved pole position by 0.290 seconds earlier this Saturday before dominantly winning the Sprint. The 32-year-old won the 13-lap dash by 2.095s over Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46.
Marquez is now undefeated in the last seven Sprint Races, and will bid to secure his seventh successive double in Sunday’s Hungarian GP. No rider has stopped the Spaniard from taking the top step of a Sprint or Grand Prix podium since the British Grand Prix at the end of May.
But while Ducati could celebrate Marquez scoring pole for the first Hungarian GP in 32 years and winning the Sprint, the Borgo Panigale outfit could only watch Bagnaia through the gaps between their fingers. Bagnaia did not advance from Q1 at Balaton Park, as his woe persists.
Neil Hodgson fears Ducati will ‘run out of patience’ after Francesco Bagnaia’s Balaton Park Sprint struggles
Bagnaia finished the Balaton Park Sprint Race in a miserable P13, and he hit the chequered flag a whopping 14.891s behind Marquez and 12.796s to Di Giannantonio aboard the same Ducati Desmosedici GP25 as his. No Ducati rider finished the Sprint behind the 28-year-old.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
After seeing Bagnaia was already 13-and-a-half seconds behind teammate Marquez after 10 laps, Neil Hodgson could not hide his fear that Ducati might soon “run out of patience” with the Italian. Saturday’s Sprint puts Bagnaia 209 points behind Marquez in the 2025 standings.
Hodgson told TNT Sports 2 (23/08, 14:19): “This is the battle for last. There are riders behind them who have been caught up in incidents. But, in the actual race, Bagnaia is in the battle for last. Just think of that.
“You feel like it’s not going to be long before Ducati are going to run out of patience… When a GP25 Ducati is first [and] a GP25 Ducati is second with Fabio Di Giannantonio, and you are battling for last with the satellite Aprilias and the Yamahas.”
Luigi Dall’Igna sparked Neil Hodgson’s fear claiming Pecco Bagnaia must work on himself
Bagnaia’s Balaton Park Sprint struggles only mark his latest woe in the 2025 MotoGP season since welcoming Marquez into the factory Ducati garage this term. While the latter has now won 13 Sprint Races in 2025, Bagnaia has not finished any Sprint Race higher than P3 so far.
Additionally, his woe follows Bagnaia admitting he was “running out of patience” at the Red Bull Ring after retiring from the Sprint before finishing the Austrian GP in P8. But a post-race debrief saw him clear the air and Davide Tardozzi confirms Bagnaia will be at Ducati in 2026.
But Hodgson’s fear about Ducati’s patience wearing thin comes after general manager Luigi Dall’Igna suggested that Bagnaia needs to work on himself. Also, Dall’Igna feels every race is now a “wasted opportunity” for Bagnaia, as he finished 12.486s behind Marquez in Austria.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
