Francesco Bagnaia told he may have to drop one Ducati ally he’s worked with for the last six years

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Francesco Bagnaia’s MotoGP struggles show no signs of ending any time soon as Ducati struggle to find answers.

The two-time champion is at risk of dropping out of the top three in the riders’ standings, and is lucky to have already secured a contract for 2026. Bagnaia needs to get back to his best form if he wants to remain at his current team into the 2027 MotoGP regulations.

Ducati’s GP25 hasn’t given him much assistance, but teammate Marc Marquez has performed well on the same machinery. There’s hope that stripping the bike back to basics over the winter, and seeing what has been changed that could be blamed, will fix things.

Bagnaia is right about Ducati’s ‘biggest problems’, with Luigi Dall’Igna insisting that their bike hasn’t changed that much over the last 12 months. Bagnaia took inspiration from Marquez on his way to seventh at the Catalan Grand Prix, and it shows he has plenty of hunger left.

READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia’s gap to Marc Marquez could ‘widen further’ in 2026 due to Ducati development choice

Francesco Bagnaia told he may have to drop Ducati’s Cristian Gabarrini

Bagnaia has been warned of a ‘disaster’ Ducati situation as he cites an improvement in his situation, without the results to back it up. The upcoming San Marino Grand Prix, a home race for him, should help boost his confidence a small amount.

It’s not necessarily going to spur him on to a win, but it should give him that little edge across the weekend. Ricard Jove believes that it might be time for Bagnaia to ask to change crew chiefs at Ducati, which would see Cristian Gabarrini, whom he has worked with since 2019, kicked to the side.

“I’m not saying this so much for Ducati, I’m saying it for Pecco himself, because if the time comes, I know he’s going to keep trying, he’s not going to throw in the towel, that’s for sure,” he said on the DURALAVITA Podcast.

“He’s a guy who has fought his whole life to keep growing, but imagine that we continue like this for the next four or five races, with a level that is not his own or with performances that are not his own.

“I even think that he might be the one to ask for time, to ask for a change, to ask Ducati for a different chief mechanic.”

READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia outlines what he has ‘never’ had at Ducati in the 2025 MotoGP season

Why Francesco Bagnaia desperately needs to find some MotoGP form

With just seven events to go this season, alarm bells may be starting to ring inside Bagnaia’s head. The improving Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta are hunting his spot in the top three down, and they look mighty competitive.

Bagnaia will receive a ‘big hit’ at Ducati if he slides out of the top three, with a financial impact as a result of his performances. More worryingly, he wouldn’t have had a victory this year if his teammate hadn’t crashed out of the Americas Grand Prix.

Dall’Igna issued a damning Bagnaia verdict, but somewhere within him is championship-winning form still. He just might have to wait until 2026 to unleash it again, otherwise, Marquez will take full advantage of his weaknesses.