Luigi Dall’Igna pulls quick U-turn on Ducati’s ‘trust’ in Francesco Bagnaia after nightmare season

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Francesco Bagnaia is now looking to the future after a nightmare season in 2025 saw the Ducati ace only manage to earn 288 points for fifth place in the riders’ standings.

To hammer home his woe, Marc Marquez also scored 257 more points than Bagnaia penned after joining the factory Ducati team for the 2025 MotoGP season. Marquez even missed the final four rounds of the year through injury, during which Bagnaia scored just 14 points in all.

Bagnaia finished the year behind Gresini’s Alex Marquez riding his year-old Ducati GP24 with 467 points, Aprilia ace Marco Bezzecchi on 353 and KTM’s Pedro Acosta on 307. The end of the year was particularly painful, as Bagnaia failed to finish six of the final seven Grands Prix.

Luigi Dall’Igna admits that Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati have to ‘rebuild a bit of trust’

After Bagnaia won the Motegi Sprint and Japanese GP, he only earned points by winning the Sepang Sprint and by taking P8 in the Portimao Sprint. The 28-year-old failed to finish either of the final five Grands Prix of 2025 in Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Portugal and Valencia.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number

Questions are now growing about Bagnaia’s future at Ducati ahead of entering the final year of his contract in Borgo Panigale next term. And general manager Luigi Dall’Igna admits that Bagnaia and Ducati now have to “rebuild a bit of trust” after his miserable year on the GP25.

Dall’Igna told Sky Italia: “I won my first MotoGP world championship with him, for which he is certainly a rider to whom I am particularly grateful.

“We will certainly try to do everything, as we have already done this year, but if possible, we will try to do even more.

“There are things that need to be taken from both sides both from a technical point of view, and also from a human point of view to try to rebuild a bit of trust, because trust has technical components within itself, but certainly also many human components.”

Luigi Dall’Igna only recently said Ducati and Pecco Bagnaia’s trust has ‘always’ remained

Dall’Igna claiming that Ducati and Bagnaia now need to “rebuild a bit of trust” represents a rapid change of position by the Italian regarding the subject. Only recently, Dall’Igna stated that Ducati and Bagnaia “have always trusted each other” throughout his miserable season.

It would be more natural for the trust between the two parties to fade rather than stay fully intact, given the extent of Bagnaia’s woe in 2025. Also, despite Dall’Igna’s recent suggestion, team chief Davide Tardozzi stated that Bagnaia had a “lack of trust” with Ducati’s 2025 bike.

Now, the two parties will need to spend the winter rebuilding their relationship and helping Bagnaia repair his confidence for him to come back stronger in 2026. Bagnaia has struggled to “accept the reality” of his problems in 2025, so will need Dall’Igna and Tardozzi’s support.