Luigi Dall’Igna ‘won’t admit’ that Francesco Bagnaia is right about one of Ducati’s ‘biggest problems’

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Francesco Bagnaia’s relationship with the Ducati team was tested more than ever during the Catalan Grand Prix weekend. Bagnaia qualified 21st on pure pace, his worst position for three years.

The two-time world champion didn’t come close to scoring points in the Sprint race. While he managed to salvage a P7 in the main Grand Prix, Ai Ogura’s late overtaking manoeuvre underlined that his problems remain profound.

Bagnaia’s hopes of holding onto third – as much as that matters – were boosted by a non-score for Marco Bezzecchi, with the gap now 40 points. But the 250-deficit to Marc Marquez is the real cause of alarm.

What’s more, the 28-year-old appears to be getting further away from a solution. He scored seven podiums in the first 11 Grands Prix – not enough to challenge for a title, but reasonably solid – however, he hasn’t finished in the top six since the season resumed following the summer break.

Luigi Dall’Igna is adamant that Ducati’s bike has barely changed – ‘that’s not the case’

Speaking to outlets including GPOne during the Barcelona weekend, Ducati boss Luigi Dall’Igna said the differences between the GP24 and GP25 are ‘very small’. In his eyes, it can’t even be called an ‘evolution’ of its predecessor.

But his struggling rider disagrees. Earlier this month, Bagnaia said ‘the DNA’ of the bike had changed this year in the biggest shift since his 2019 arrival.

‘Well-connected’ Italian figures in the MotoGP paddock are concerned by Ducati’s reluctance to ‘admit’ that Bagnaia is right. The introduction of a new engine has affected not only power output, but also weight distribution and general feeling.

Simon Patterson said on The Race MotoGP podcast: “I had a good chat the other night with some Italian friends [who are] very well-connected in the paddock. They’re quite adamant that one of the biggest problems right now is that Ducati won’t admit publicly that the bike is different.

“We spoke to Gigi Dall’Igna on Saturday afternoon, who once again claimed that the GP24 and the GP25 are the same bike. We know that’s not the case – it’s got a different engine, the engine feels different, acts different, has weight in a different place. It doesn’t work the same.”

Is this statistically Francesco Bagnaia’s worst season at Ducati?

Bagnaia joined the Ducati factory team in 2021 after spending two years at the then-satellite squad Pramac. He has won at least four Grands Prix in each of his four full seasons to date.

Barring a remarkable turnaround, he won’t match that tally this year. While it’s futile to compare points hauls given the introduction of the Sprints in 2023, this will almost certainly be the first year he slips out of the top two.

Davide Tardozzi wants Bagnaia to start enjoying riding again, but that’s almost impossible if he can’t compete at the front. It’s increasingly unlikely that a breakthrough is made before the end of the season.

Meanwhile, teammate Marquez thinks the media are making Bagnaia’s life harder. But the extent of the coverage is no surprise given the standards the Turin native has maintained for years.