Valentino Rossi’s ex-coach tells Francesco Bagnaia to cut out one habit that’s getting him ‘nowhere’

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Ducati ace Francesco Bagnaia is enduring his worst run of results since the start of the 2022 MotoGP season, after failing to get on a Grand Prix podium in the last five races.

Another failure to reach the rostrum next time out at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 28 would also see Bagnaia set his worst run of results since a six-race podium drought back in 2021. The Italian’s woes also leave him 275 points behind Marc Marquez in the standings.

Bagnaia had, at worst, failed to reach a rostrum in two successive races over the 66 rounds after finishing the 2022 Portuguese Grand Prix in P8 up to his most recent podium with P3 in the 2025 German Grand Prix. It was the 28-year-old’s seventh podium of the season so far.

Ducati have not seen Bagnaia come close to earning a podium since he took P4 in the Czech GP with a 0.513s deficit to KTM’s Pedro Acosta in P3 at Brno. Bagnaia only secured P8 in the Austrian GP, P9 in the Hungarian GP, P7 in the Catalan GP and crashed in the San Marino GP.

Luca Cadalora believes it is ‘important’ for Francesco Bagnaia to ‘find positivity’

Bagnaia demanded answers from Ducati at the Red Bull Ring, too, as he was “running out of patience” with persistently struggling to maximise the Desmosedici GP25. All term, Bagnaia has struggled to adapt to the GP25, as Ducati’s 2025 bike does not suit his ideal riding style.

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

But Luca Cadalora, who acted as a rider coach for Valentino Rossi from 2015 to 2018, claims Bagnaia has to stop “complaining” and “find positivity” if he is to rebuild at Ducati. The two-time 250cc champion also believes it is clear Bagnaia can do a lot better than he currently is.

Cadalora has told Fanpage: “The important thing is to find positivity. Complaining gets you nowhere. Bagnaia was right to highlight his improvement. We can build from there.

“He needs to build again because it’s clear he’s not the rider we see today, which doesn’t mean he’s as strong as Marquez. However, he’s a rider who can do much better than that.”

Pecco Bagnaia struggles to hide his frustrations during a disappointing season

Bagnaia held very serious talks with Ducati at Balaton Park to try and agree on a solution for his lack of and worsening results. Those talks also led to some more positivity in Hungary as Bagnaia thought they found a breakthrough with his set-up, despite finishing the race in P9.

It proved to be a false dawn, however, as Bagnaia’s plight persisted in Barcelona. Now, Luigi Dall’Igna admits that “everyone” at Ducati has lost patience with Bagnaia failing to produce results close to what Marquez is achieving on the other side of the Bologna Bullets’ garage.

Bagnaia told Marquez “I’m losing more and more confidence” in Barcelona, too, as the two-time MotoGP champion’s plight is eating at him. Marco Melandri fears little will change for Bagnaia in 2026, as well, as next year’s Ducati will feature a lot of carryover from the GP25.