Marc Marquez thinks Francesco Bagnaia still has a big part to play in Ducati’s ‘future’

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Francesco Bagnaia’s disastrous 2025 MotoGP campaign has seen his future at Ducati be thrown into question, but Marc Marquez believes his teammate still has a big part to play in the future of the Italian constructor.

The factory Ducati team’s 2025 MotoGP season was a tale of the two different sides of the garage.

On one hand, Marc Marquez simply dominated. The high-flying Spaniard won 25 out of the 36 races he competed in across all formats on his way to the title, as Jorge Martin set a new record for the worst title defence in the history of MotoGP.

On the other hand, Francesco Bagnaia experienced his worst season yet with the factory outfit. The Italian rider showed glimpses of his world championship-winning talent, but was unable to consistently put together a string of good results to challenge Marquez for the title.

READ MORE: Ducati will ‘force’ Marc Marquez to make a 2026 bike decision that he delegated to Francesco Bagnaia

Marc Marquez tells Francesco Bagnaia why Ducati ‘need’ him to return to his finest form next season

In an interview with MotoGP following his seventh world championship feat in the premier class, Marquez fielded a number of questions regarding his return to the top of the riders’ standings.

The Spaniard touched upon the woes that his factory Ducati counterpart experienced during the 2025 campaign, whilst highlighting the need for Bagnaia to return to his past form that saw him win back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023.

Marquez said, “We need Pecco to come back to his level because he’s super sensitive on the bike, and he will help a lot for the future.

“For me, the speed of Pecco is there; the speed is still there. He’s showing in some practices, and in some races.

“In the Motegi GP, he got 37 points, and I was pushing, but I was not able to catch him. Sometimes, only two months are enough to reset everything.

“So December and January will be the best time for Pecco to reset everything and to restart in the Malaysia test.”

READ MORE: Alex Marquez just told Francesco Bagnaia what he must do to beat Marc Marquez at Ducati

Marc Marquez was trying to help Francesco Bagnaia get out of his MotoGP rut during 2025

After the factory Ducati line-up were tipped to take part in an intense title fight against each other in the 2025 term, Bagnaia found an unlikely ally in Marquez after the Italian rider disclosed how his teammate had been helping him to turn around his struggles earlier in the season.

It was clear to see that the 28-year-old was trying everything he possibly could to get out of his rut, and the fact that Marquez was willing to help his Ducati teammate shows how far the two-time world champion had fallen.

Bagnaia also enlisted the help of Casey Stoner, the first MotoGP rider to bring a world championship back to Borgo Panigale.

Stoner’s aid seemed to have fixed the woes that Bagnaia had experienced, but it turned out to be short-lived as he continued to struggle following his perfect weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix.