Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi hopes Francesco Bagnaia has a “completely different” season in 2026, after calling the Italian rider’s 2025 campaign “painful”.
The 28-year-old endured a drastic fall from grace in Borgo Panigale during the 2025 season. Bagnaia had been the top dog at Ducati since he joined from Pramac back in 2021. But Marc Marquez quickly gained control of the Bologna Bullets after he joined from Gresini this term.
Bagnaia even finished the 2025 MotoGP season just fifth in the riders’ standings, having not ranked outside of the top two in any of his four previous terms with Ducati. The Turin native won the premier class title in 2022 and 2023, and he finished second during 2021 and 2024.
Winning back the riders’ title after Jorge Martin took the 2024 crown with Pramac by just 10 points rapidly became a distant dream for Bagnaia this term, all the while Marquez ran away in the lead. Marquez ultimately won the 2025 MotoGP riders’ title with five rounds to spare.
Davide Tardozzi admits Ducati could not always give Francesco Bagnaia ‘our maximum help’
Bagnaia could not adapt to the Ducati GP25, despite the glory that Marquez achieved riding the bike. Marquez won 11 Grands Prix and 14 Sprint Races, as he scored 545 points from 18 rounds, while Bagnaia took two wins in each format and earned 288 points from 22 rounds.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
Francesco Bagnaia on his MotoGP future
Ducati team manager Tardozzi claims everyone in the team, including general manager Luigi Dall’Igna, gave their all to help Bagnaia overcome his woes in 2025. Yet he also concedes that it was not always possible for Ducati to offer Bagnaia the “maximum” help he required.
“Painful,” Tardozzi told the MotoGP website. “Painful is the right word, because I love Pecco. Pecco is one of or the most important riders for Ducati, because he won two titles and 31 races for us.
“So, he deserves our maximum help. Sometimes, we were not able to give him [that]. But in other ways, we know that we all, Gigi, Ducati Corse, we all tried hard to solve his problem.
“For some reason, he didn’t find the right feeling with the bike this year. But we are looking forward and working together with him to try to have a completely different 2026.”
Francesco Bagnaia will fear failing to bounce back from his miserable 2025 season
Bagnaia failing to finish six of the final seven Grands Prix wrecked his hopes to end the 2025 term at least in the top three of the riders’ championship. In vast contrast to previous years, Bagnaia winning the Sprint and Grand Prix in Japan were odd results as this term concluded.
READ MORE: Which 2025 MotoGP rider had the most Q1 exits? It wasn’t Somkiat Chantra
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The VR46 Academy product’s only other Grand Prix win in 2025 came during round three of 22 after Marquez crashed in the lead of the Americas GP. Bagnaia won the Sprint at Sepang, too, but after Marquez had suffered a season-ending injury two rounds earlier in Indonesia.
Tardozzi recently claimed that Bagnaia had a “lack of trust” with Ducati’s bike in 2025, too, as he never got on top of how the GP25 handled under braking compared to the GP24. Also, Dall’Igna feels Bagnaia and Ducati need to “rebuild a bit of trust” after his wretched season.
Bagnaia will fear failing to bounce back from his miserable 2025 campaign in 2026, given he is currently due to be out of contract for Ducati at the end of next year. His two titles and 31 Grand Prix wins will help him find a ride elsewhere, if needed, but Ducati will want far more.
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