Pecco Bagnaia is questioning what he’s ‘always’ thought about Ducati amid Valencia Grand Prix misery

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Francesco Bagnaia’s qualifying session at the Valencia Grand Prix epitomised his 2025 season. Forced to begin in Q1, he ground to a halt on track.

Bagnaia had once again struggled on Friday, finishing the afternoon practice session in 14th place. But he showed promise in FP2 by setting the second-fastest time.

The two-time MotoGP champion has emerged from Q1 to take pole position twice this year, and he was running second with a few minutes remaining before stopping in the gravel trap.

Bagnaia was subsequently bumped down to 16th place, a result that will likely see him lose P4 in the championship to Pedro Acosta.

Francesco Bagnaia mastered the Ducati bike, but ‘it doesn’t work that way anymore’

Bagnaia began to reflect on his crushing 2025 in an interview with Sky Italy on Friday evening. Just a year ago, he was fighting Jorge Martin for the title at the final round.

While he ultimately lost that battle, Bagnaia had been first or second in all four seasons with the Ducati factory team. He knew exactly how the bike ‘should be ridden’.

But while his team disagree, the Italian maintains that the DNA of the Desmosedici motorcycle has changed this year.

“I know the Ducati very well, I know how I’ve always ridden it and how it should be ridden,” he explained. “This year, however, it doesn’t work that way anymore, and it’s hard to understand why.”

‘I barely feel anything’ – The real reason Francesco Bagnaia’s 2025 has been so desperate

There was a theory that Bagnaia’s 2025 woes are down to Ducati’s new ride-height device, but both parties are still indicating that they haven’t identified the root cause.

Bagnaia has complained about a lack of ‘feeling’ all season, and that’s perhaps the worst issue he could have. It means he struggles to offer any useful feedback.

This explains why Bagnaia has been able to deliver perfect weekends like Japan and then drop out of the points altogether soon after.

• READ MORE: Neil Hodgson says Ducati will make no effort to keep Pecco Bagnaia, they’re focused on another rider

“We’ve tried all season to go in the right direction, but all year I’ve struggled to give clear instructions on what to do on the bike because I barely feel anything,” he said. “When braking, I just feel that the bike slows down very little, and on the exit, I don’t get any traction at all.

“And it happens with everything we try, so it’s difficult to ask for anything. I have my ideas, my team understands them perfectly. There are times when fortunately they’ve gone well, other times when unfortunately they’ve gone much worse. It’s very complicated.”

Marc Marquez won 11 of the 18 Grands Prix he started on the same bike, but Bagnaia has outscored the other GP25 rider, Fabio Di Giannantonio, by nearly 50 points.