Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia is searching for answers at Ducati amid his crisis in the 2025 MotoGP season.
The switch to the GP25 from the GP24 has been damaging for the Italian as he struggles to get to grips with the new bike. Bagnaia has just one win to his name as he sits third in the standings with 237 points.
In contrast, Ducati teammate Marc Marquez has won 25 races, including Sprints, and has 512 points from riding the same machine. Bagnaia has concluded that he does not suit the GP25 as he lies behind Alex Marquez, who is on the GP24, by 93 points.
The Borgo Panigale outfit have worked behind the scenes to fix the 28-year-old’s problems, but they have borne little improvement. Luigi Dall’Igna says ‘everyone’ at Ducati is losing patience with Bagnaia as he ramps up the pressure on the Italian.
The team and the rider are running out of ideas as they cannot find a solution to Bagnaia’s woes on the GP25. He will desperately hope that next year’s bike will be a better fit.
Luigi Dall’Igna’s ‘ego’ will prevent Ducati from reverting to the GP24 for Francesco Bagnaia in 2026
Bagnaia will ride the GP26 next season alongside teammate Marquez. Gresini’s Alex Marquez will receive the factory bike in 2026, while Fabio Di Giannantonio will also ride the machine for VR46.
The two-time MotoGP champion will want to see an improved bike from Ducati. However, Bagnaia’s gap to Marquez could widen further as the GP26 is set to be more tailored to his teammate, given his dominance.
It is possible that Bagnaia could ride the GP24 next season, as it has been homologated under the current engine freeze. The Italian won 11 races on the machine in 2024; it would be a welcome change.
However, journalist Simon Patterson notes that Dall’Igna would prevent this from happening due to his ‘ego’. He will not move Ducati back to the old spec after designing a ‘worse’ bike in the GP25.
“We know that the reason that they won’t go back to the GP24 is basically Gigi Dall’Igna’s ego, because he made a worse bike this year,” he said via The Race MotoGP Podcast.
“So it’s a very easy get out of jail free card, should they actually choose to revert to something that’s a little bit easier to ride, or at the very least, revert to that engine, and then put that engine into a new frame that is a little bit of GP26 magic, new aero, stuff like that.
“It’s a way for them to fix some of the problems that, Bagnaia in particular, but I think certainly Fabio Di Giannantonio and maybe Marquez in general are also having, without actually conceding that you’ve done anything that might look like reverting to something that’s older and better.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
What Ducati have told Francesco Bagnaia to do to improve his fortunes
Ducati are not giving up on Bagnaia just yet as they continue to look for ways around his problems. MotoGP legend Casey Stoner was seen in his garage during the Misano test, providing feedback.
Bagnaia wishes Stoner were around ‘more often’, as the Aussie gave detailed pointers to help him on the bike. He is not the only MotoGP champion who has offered advice, as Valentino Rossi and his entourage have also sought to help out.
Rossi’s ex-coach says Bagnaia must be more positive after looking despondent in recent media interviews. The 28-year-old has grown more frustrated as the season goes on and Marquez continues to outperform him.
A Ducati coach says Bagnaia should copy Alex Marquez in how he learned from his brother being his teammate at Honda and Gresini. The problem is, as 2025 has shown, that the Spaniard is almost impossible to beat on the same bike.
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