Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia had a podium ripped from his grasp just three laps from the end of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Italian rider, who showed impressive pace all weekend, won the sprint for Ducati on Saturday, as his confusing run of results continued. It looked as though he was on course to reclaim third in the MotoGP standings before a strange issue took him out of the running with minutes to go.
Having battled well against KTM’s Pedro Acosta for much of the Malaysian Grand Prix, it was fair to say that Bagnaia had already earned his third place. Unfortunately, a suspected rear puncture was to be his undoing at the end – an issue he might have been managing for a few laps.
Michael Laverty was caught out by Pedro Acosta and his ability to pull out a gap on Bagnaia at the end of the race, which may have been down to his issues. Ducati are still in trouble, according to the two-time champion, who remains confused by some of the problems he has faced in 2025.
READ MORE: Behind-the-scenes clip shows Francesco Bagnaia’s message to Luigi Dall’Igna after Malaysian GP pole
MotoGP fans can’t believe Francesco Bagnaia’s late Malaysian Grand Prix retirement
Bagnaia felt lucky to secure pole on Saturday, after having to scrape through Q1 before setting a solid lap in Q2. Over the last few weekends, he only seems to be capable of finishing first or last, which is a very strange phenomenon.
Jorge Lorenzo can’t believe Bagnaia’s bike movement and was stunned after watching the Italian rider battle with his GP25. At Sepang, he looked a little more settled, only to be hit with an unfortunate technical issue late in the race.
Speaking on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), his fans decided to share their verdict on his late retirement in Sepang.
“Pecco needs a reset. Sad to see him struggle so much this year. Hopefully, 2026 sees him back to form,” said one fan, who feels that 2025 is already a write-off.
“Disaster. At least it’s an obvious thing – not like in Australia,” added someone else, while another fan is still astonished by his form this year, “The up and down of a season he has [had].”
“Drama,” commented another individual, while another fan was frustrated by the nature of the incident, adding, “Different problems every time.”
And finally, one last statement reminded Bagnaia’s team that his side of the garage hasn’t had things easy this season, “Another bad luck, Ducati Lenovo Team.”
Why Francesco Bagnaia cannot afford to switch off after his dismal 2025 MotoGP campaign
Although some may feel that Bagnaia needs a reset, that won’t be necessary until after he has completed a lot of the work to prepare for 2026.
If he wants his predicament to improve, then he’s going to have to make sure that his head is in the game after the season ends, at the post-season test in Valencia.
With Marc Marquez out injured, he’s going to be Ducati’s main port of call for feedback, pushing the development of next year’s bike in a certain direction.
If he doesn’t take advantage of that opportunity to craft the GP26 to his liking, then he might as well be signing off from Ducati for good. He needs to come back stronger next year, and he knows it.
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