Pablo Nieto says Francesco Bagnaia is wrong about Ducati’s GP25 bike after what he’s seen at VR46

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Francesco Bagnaia had another puzzling weekend at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Ducati rider unexpectedly won the Sprint after lacking pace on Friday.

Bagnaia had to progress from Q1 before taking pole position, the second time that’s happened this season. He then won the Sprint by over two seconds from Alex Marquez.

In the Grand Prix, Bagnaia was running in the podium places before suffering a puncture that forced him to retire. Pedro Acosta’s P2 puts him at risk of losing fourth place in the standings.

Michelin say Bagnaia ran over a piece of carbon, calling the retirement ‘unfortunate’. It’s his third DNF in a row and fourth in five Sunday races.

Pablo Nieto says there are ‘minimal’ differences between Ducati GP24 and GP25

Bagnaia has said that Ducati didn’t improve their bike between 2024 and 2025. Marc Marquez won the championship in dominant fashion on the GP25, but Alex Marquez secured the runner-up spot on last year’s machinery.

In Bagnaia’s eyes, it goes beyond stagnation. He claims the ‘DNA’ of the motorcycle has changed, which is why he’s lost ‘feeling’ at the front end.

Ducati disagree. Luigi Dall’Igna says most of the changes over the winter were designed to improve reliability rather than alter handling characteristics, a view that VR46’s Pablo Nieto echoed when speaking to Hospitality Motociclismo.

Nieto is perhaps best-placed to comment on the difference between the two machines because VR46 are the only outfit running one of each. He says the evolution was ‘minimal’.

“From 23 to 24, there was one brutal step,” said Nieto. “There, it was clear that the motorcycle was a completely different concept.

“Obviously, there are always improvements – but they are improvements. There should not be much difference between one and the other.

“Let’s say one gives you a little bit more reliability, those little details. I believe that the difference is practically minimal.”

One Francesco Bagnaia comment may have just solved the Ducati mystery once and for all

As if to back up Nieto’s point perfectly, there’s only one point separating VR46 duo Franco Morbidelli (GP24) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (GP25) in the championship.

As he admitted in Malaysia, Bagnaia struggles to adapt to bikes he doesn’t like. This may be the ‘weak point’ that has defined his 2025 season.

For Dani Pedrosa, Alex Marquez has had a ‘mental’ edge on Bagnaia this year, which has seen him win the battle for P2. Beating Marc on a consistent basis may have been beyond his capabilities, but Bagnaia has fallen below what was seen as a worst-case scenario.

Including Sprints, Bagnaia has four wins and 15 podiums this year, so his weaknesses shouldn’t be overstated. But it’s hard to imagine Ducati tolerating another year of negative headlines on his side of the garage.