Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia endured yet another difficult weekend at the Australian Grand Prix and walked away with no points to show for his efforts.
It’s the third time in the last four race weekends that it has happened, which is both worrying and unacceptable for a factory Ducati rider. His Motegi dominance was clearly an outlier, and the signs aren’t positive heading into 2026.
Bagnaia has struggled for the majority of the MotoGP campaign, but things hadn’t been anywhere close to this bad. He was still able to contend for podiums and be around the top 10. For some reason, he really does not get on well with the GP25.
Suzi Perry was stunned by Bagnaia in Australia, after he decided to give a fan a pair of his race boots. It’s not something that riders usually do. Mat Oxley expects ‘tough’ Bagnaia talks to take place with Ducati following Australia, but there’s a quick turnaround before the next race in Malaysia.
READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia urges MotoGP to repeat Australian Grand Prix decision Pedro Acosta firmly opposes
Francesco Bagnaia preferred to ‘crash’ over finishing last for Ducati at Phillip Island
Bagnaia suffered a complicated issue at Phillip Island before crashing out of the Grand Prix. It was all due to braking and how his bike felt on the entry to corners. For months, he has experimented with the size of his brake discs, but that wasn’t much of a cure in Australia.
His latest crash came while he was at least making some progress during the Australian Grand Prix. With three races to go this season, he doesn’t have to put up with his current situation for much longer.
It’s going to be a long winter at Ducati, especially after Bagnaia admitted that he was more prepared to ‘crash’ than finish last at Phillip Island. It shows how desperate he has now become – a very worrying sign for a two-time champion heading into 2026.
“When you’re really at the limit, it’s easy to crash,” he told the Italian edition of Motorsport.com. “I accepted the risk because I told myself I wouldn’t accept finishing last again. I almost finished the race because I think there were six laps left when I crashed.
“I was recovering, and I think a top 10 finish was possible, but unfortunately, I then crashed. Today went much better than yesterday and the two races in Indonesia. I’d rather crash 1,000 times while fighting for the top 10 than crash when I’m last.”
READ MORE: Fabio Di Giannantonio has now adopted Francesco Bagnaia’s ‘tactic’ amid ‘incessant’ Ducati questions
Why Francesco Bagnaia will be most upset after the Australian Grand Prix
After months of clinging on to his spot inside the top three of the MotoGP standings, Bagnaia was finally overtaken by Marco Bezzecchi.
The Aprilia rider has been in top form for quite some time, and there was an air of inevitability about the situation.
It’s hard to see Bagnaia turning that around at all in the remaining events, and his focus may already be on the post-season test at Valencia.
As far as he is concerned, that’s where the real work will start. If he matches his performances from 2025 in 2026, then the MotoGP rider market beckons for him.
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