Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia produced his worst qualifying result in 70 rounds at the 2025 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix, after he bowed out in Q1 in Barcelona in P11.
The 28-year-old will now start the Barcelona Sprint and the Catalan GP from only P21 on the grid. Bagnaia had not produced a worse qualifying result since he did not post any lap times at the 2022 Portuguese Grand Prix after crashing on slick tyres around a wet Portimao track.
A lack of pace was his only problem this Saturday, though, as Bagnaia lapped the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 1:38.530. Only KTM Tech3’s Maverick Vinales, Aprilia tester Lorenzo Savadori and LCR Honda’s Somkiat Chantra posted slower lap times during Q1 in Barcelona.
Yamaha racer Fabio Quartararo set the pace in Q1, as he advanced to Q2 with a 1:37.906 to fend off VR46 rival Fabio Di Giannantonio on the same Ducati Desmosedici GP25 as Bagnaia by 0.139 seconds. Bagnaia’s time was 0.624s off Quartararo’s lap on his Yamaha YZR-M1.
Francesco Bagnaia’s riding style disappointed Neil Hodgson during Q1 at the Catalan GP
Ducati had far more pace in their pocket than Bagnaia would show during Q1, as teammate Marc Marquez qualified P3 for the Catalan GP with a 1:37.945 in Q2. Quartararo also sealed P2 on the grid with a 0.267s deficit to Gresini ace Alex Marquez’s 1:37.536 on a Ducati GP24.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
Neil Hodgson was especially worried by how relaxed Bagnaia seemed to be attacking Turn 1 during qualifying for the Catalan GP compared to Quartararo. Bagnaia has been off the pace all weekend in Barcelona, with the braking issues that have plagued him all year continuing.
“You look at the difference,” Hodgson said on TNT Sports 2 (06/09, 10:02). “So, you watch Quartararo approach Turn 1, compared to Bagnaia.
“Quartararo looked like [he was on] the absolute limit. The bike is floating, it looks like he’s going to go wide, but he doesn’t. He commits.
“And Bagnaia looked like he was on an out-lap, almost. Exactly, [he’s not got the trust in the bike], that’s what it is. What a contrast seeing those two people attack Turn 1.”
Francesco Bagnaia has ‘the last thing you need’ with Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali in Barcelona
To add to Bagnaia’s woes after his miserable qualifying for the 2025 Catalan GP, Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali is in Barcelona this weekend. Hodgson adds that Domenicali’s presence in the Ducati garage would have been “the last thing” that Bagnaia wanted after his Q1 lap.
Hodgson added (10:06): “The last thing you need as you come back into the garage, as well, is seeing Claudio Domenicali here. The boss. The main man.
“And there’s one thing I know about Claudio Domenicali, having worked underneath him, he does not waste his words. [He] is a very direct individual.”
Qualifying for the Catalan GP just marks the latest blow that Bagnaia has endured during the 2025 MotoGP season so far. The two-time premier class champion arrived in Barcelona with a 227-point deficit to Marc Marquez in the riders’ standings, and is 52 behind Alex Marquez.
The Marquez brothers will also do battle to win the Barcelona Sprint and Catalan GP, all the while Bagnaia is trying to charge through the field. Bagnaia has not finished on a Grand Prix podium since the German GP as he only took P4 in Czechia, P8 in Austria and P9 in Hungary.
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