Francesco Bagnaia unleashes his fury at Ducati following ‘unacceptable’ result in Mandalika Sprint

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Francesco Bagnaia has expressed his anger with Ducati after the “unacceptable” performance of his GP25 during the Grand Prix of Indonesia Sprint race.

After such a positive race weekend last time out in Japan, Bagnaia seemingly returned to his former ways as he qualified 16th and took the chequered flag in the final place out of the finishing riders in the Sprint race at Mandalika.

Bagnaia and Ducati thought they had solved his 2025 woes at the final in-season test of the current MotoGP campaign at Misano, which was backed up by his pole position, Sprint win and Grand Prix victory at the Japanese Grand Prix a fortnight ago.

Many people within the MotoGP paddock thought the result marked a change in form for the Italian rider, including his Ducati teammate. Marc Marquez had seen the progress Bagnaia had been making in recent weeks and was sure that he would return to his former self soon.

READ MORE: MotoGP 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix schedule and how to watch after Marc Marquez clinched title

Francesco Bagnaia slams Ducati for the “unacceptable” performance of his GP25

Speaking to journalists, via Motorsport.com, following the conclusion of the race, the two-time MotoGP champion couldn’t help but express his fury regarding his regression from the previous race weekend.

When prompted on what went wrong in the Indonesian Grand Prix Sprint race, Bagnaia explained, “I had unstoppable movements on the bike. Many times, I stopped giving the throttle; many times, I had no brakes.

“It’s certainly dangerous to ride like this, but we’re used to all this, and we know how to react to these situations. But what happened today is, for me, unacceptable. I’ll go to the pits to talk afterwards, but we’ll see.”

Bagnaia himself couldn’t believe the change in feeling atop the GP25 to how he felt riding it in Japan, demanding an explanation for it as he added, “Seven days ago I was winning the sprint race at Motegi by two seconds, after having set the record in qualifying. 

“And here I did what I did. It’s not possible. I don’t explain it, I can’t explain it. I want you to explain it to me, too.”

He was then asked who was responsible for the change in performance, to which he replied, “The team, I don’t know, I don’t know who. Someone. At least they should explain to me why I was so slow, why I can’t be fast here.

“They have the data, I don’t know what happened. Today, my best lap was 1:31.7, two seconds slower than the leaders. It’s strange.”

Bagnaia ended up nearly 30 seconds behind race-winner Marco Bezzecchi at the chequered flag, completely on his own as he struggled at the back of the pack.

READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia says MotoGP safety change has actually made the Indonesian Grand Prix ‘dangerous’

Francesco Bagnaia may have to think again about beating Alex Marquez to P2 in the riders’ standings

Following Bagnaia’s feat of claiming a maximum haul of 37 points at Motegi, many thought that the Italian rider would be able to challenge Alex Marquez for second place in the riders’ standings.

The Gresini rider has been in fine form throughout the current premier class season, occupying the second-place spot for the majority of the year.

For his efforts, Marquez has been rewarded with a factory Ducati bike for the 2026 season.

Marc Marquez has been asked whether he will favour either rider in their quest for the runners-up spot due to his personal connection with Alex Marquez and professional connection with Bagnaia.

The 2025 title winner stated that his brother is more than capable of achieving the feat on his own, and he may have a point when taking into account Bagnaia’s result in the Indonesian Sprint race.