Francesco Bagnaia explains why he won’t benefit from Marc Marquez’s absence at the Australian Grand Prix

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Francesco Bagnaia has shared his verdict on whether he will benefit from the absence of his championship-winning teammate at the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.

Bagnaia has spent the entirety of the current MotoGP season in the shadow of Marc Marquez due to the fact that the Spaniard has set the grid alight on Ducati’s factory bike on his way to a seventh premier class title.

However, Marquez will be absent from the tarmac at Phillip Island as he continues his recuperation from the broken collarbone sustained at the previous round of racing in Indonesia.

Ducati Superbikes rider Michele Pirro will take the reins from Marquez at the Australian Grand Prix, which may mean that a few of the Borgo Panigale-based technicians’ priorities will be on fixing the issues that have plagued the Italian rider in the current term.

READ MORE: Fabio Di Giannantonio told why he’s suffering from the ‘same problems’ as Francesco Bagnaia at Ducati

Francesco Bagnaia doesn’t think the extra attention from engineers this weekend will benefit him

Marquez previously shot down claims of favouritism within Ducati during the height of Bagnaia’s struggles, which has been debunked by the Italian’s latest verdict on how much attention he received during his brief revival at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Speaking to journalists ahead of the upcoming round in Australia, Bagnaia was asked whether he thinks he will benefit from the absence of his high-flying teammate, to which he replied, via GPOne, “I think in Motegi everyone was focused on Marc for the title, and I won both races.

“I don’t think that’s the issue; the issue is how the bike goes. The same bike in Motegi worked great, and the next week, in Indonesia, it didn’t. That’s what we have to figure out.”

Bagnaia was furious with Ducati following his literal point-less result in Mandalika. The change in feeling that he had on the GP25 was in stark contrast to the confidence he had atop it just one week prior.

The issue has stumped both the rider and the engineers for the majority of the season.

Ducati have tried to stay as tight-lipped about it as they possibly can, but it emerged that Bagnaia tested Franco Morbidelli’s GP24 at Misano prior to the race weekend in Japan, which was one of the reasons for his bounce-back.

READ MORE: Andrea Dovizioso has noticed something ‘strange’ in Ducati’s interviews about Francesco Bagnaia

Francesco Bagnaia is aware of the ‘nightmare’ characteristics of the Phillip Island circuit

The Australian Grand Prix is one of the few circuits on the 2025 MotoGP calendar that the 41-time race winner has never won at during his Grand Prix motorcycle racing career.

Having raced there 10 times in the past, securing a podium on three occasions, he’s aware of the dangers that the circuit poses.

Asked about how he reacted in the days following the Grand Prix of Indonesia and his chances of bouncing back again in Australia, Bagnaia said, “I’m quite calm because, fortunately, there was the Motegi GP, where I felt good on the bike and was able to push and win.

“I know I haven’t forgotten how to do that. At home, I just hoped to get here and have good feelings; otherwise, it’s going to be a really tough weekend because this track is fast, with bumps, and it’s very windy. If the front end is not stable, this track becomes a nightmare.”

With his contract expiring at the end of the upcoming term in 2026, Ducati have set Bagnaia a deadline by which he needs to start recording more consistently impressive results before they make a decision on his future at the factory outfit.