Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia had yet another nightmare MotoGP weekend at the Australian Grand Prix as he suffered his fourth retirement of the season.
Having failed to reach the chequered flag in three of his last four starts, Ducati will be especially confused by the Italian rider’s lack of pace since winning in Japan. It felt as though Bagnaia had turned a new page in his MotoGP season.
Now, looks as though he might be in the thick of the MotoGP rider market ahead of the new regulations in 2027. Ducati are not a manufacturer that can afford to have one of their riders being so far behind his teammate. They know what sort of level their bike is capable of reaching.
Bagnaia has distanced himself from management and there has been visible strain on his relationship with the Borgo Panigale outfit. Bagnaia preferred to ‘crash’ at Phillip Island over finishing last. It shows that his situation isn’t down to a lack of trying.
READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia explains the ‘complicated’ Ducati problem behind his Australian Grand Prix crash
Francesco Bagnaia warned Luigi Dall’Igna ‘will not accept’ his Australian Grand Prix performance
Bagnaia stunned Suzi Perry by giving his boots away to a fan after crashing during Sunday’s Grand Prix. It’s something that she doesn’t believe any other rider would do. It may also be a sign of how fed up he is with his current situation.
According to KTM’s Pol Espargaro, Bagnaia’s troubles run deeper than Ducati and do not relate entirely to his bike. He’s under contract for 12 more months and has to find a way to rediscover his old form, and beat teammate Marc Marquez. Both feel unlikely at this moment.
Mat Oxley has pointed out how his current performance is something that Ducati boss Luigi Dall’Igna will refuse to ‘accept’, even though his difficulties have been well-documented.
“Again this is how as an engineer, you can psychologically tune your rider, as well as technically tune your rider,” he said on the Oxley Bom Podcast. “You know that as an engineer, your job isn’t just to twiddle with settings and so on.
“It’s also to put the rider in the right move. Obviously, now Gigi Dall’Igna is not happy. Well, he hasn’t been happy with Bagnaia since the start of the season. But Gigi Dall’Igna will not accept this kind of performance. He will not accept it.”
READ MORE: Neil Hodgson stunned by Marco Bezzecchi’s gesture towards Francesco Bagnaia at Australian Grand Prix
Francesco Bagnaia matches unwanted five-year feat after the Australian Grand Prix
By failing to reach the podium at Phillip Island, Bagnaia now has just one rostrum in his last eight attempts.
It matches his worst run since the 2020 season, before he was even considered a contender for MotoGP titles.
He has also dropped outside the top three of the standings for the first time since the start of the 2022 campaign, and doesn’t look like threatening Marco Bezzecchi to get his place back.
Ducati have lost confidence in Bagnaia and a prediction by Davide Tardozzi illustrated it perfectly. He believed a podium, rather than a win, was achievable before arriving in Australia. Even that proved to be a stretch.
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