Luca Marini backs Francesco Bagnaia to ‘redeem himself’ in 2026 for a very important reason

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Francesco Bagnaia recorded his worst season for five years during 2025, as the Ducati rider only achieved fifth place in the standings on the back of four straight title fights.

The 28-year-old conquered the world with Ducati in 2022 and 2023, as he sealed the Borgo Panigale squad their first premier class titles since Casey Stoner won the 2007 title. Bagnaia finished 26 points from Fabio Quartararo in 2021 and 10 points behind Jorge Martin in 2024.

But a third riders’ title proved to be a distant dream for the Italian this year. Bagnaia finished the 2025 MotoGP season with a massive 257-point deficit to his Ducati teammate, as Marc Marquez won his first title since 2019 in his first year with the Bologna Bullets’ factory team.

Bagnaia also trailled Marquez by 267 points when the Spaniard secured the title in round 17 of 22 at the Japanese Grand Prix. His gap to the top also grew to 271 points before Marquez suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on Lap 1 of the Indonesian Grand Prix in round 18.

Luca Marini thinks Francesco Bagnaia will be the ‘only’ rider on ‘equal terms’ with Marc Marquez in 2026

The margin between the Ducati riders barely changed during Marquez’s absence as Bagnaia failed to finish six of the final seven Grands Prix this term. Bagnaia’s Malaysia Sprint win and his P8 in the Portugal Sprint yielded the Turin native’s sole points during Marquez’s absence.

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

Bagnaia failed to adapt to the Ducati GP25, as he struggled to adjust to the bike’s behaviour especially under braking. But Honda rider and fellow VR46 Academy product Luca Marini is confident that Bagnaia will enjoy the chance to bounce back from his sorry season in 2026.

Marini also hopes Bagnaia can fight Marquez for the 2026 title, as he expects his compatriot will be the only rider to start next year on “equal terms” with the Spaniard. Gresini star Alex Marquez and VR46 pilot Fabio Di Giannantonio will also ride factory Ducati GP26s next year.

“In the end, the season went as it was supposed to, as often happens,” he told Motosprint. “Marc is very strong and was on the best bike, so it was pretty obvious he’d win. We’ll see how next year goes, but I think Pecco will have a good opportunity to redeem himself.

“It would be great to see him fight again, given that right now, he’s the only one starting on equal terms with Marc. Honda and I will try to fight with them.”

Pecco Bagnaia will know he can only prove if he is back by beating Marc Marquez on track

Marini was the only rider who backed Bagnaia to win the 2025 title over Marquez ahead of the season. But the challenge of adapting to the Ducati GP25 ensured Bagnaia was looking over his shoulder much sooner into the season than he was looking at vying for the crown.

Ultimately, along with Marc and Alex Marquez securing a historic one-two in the standings, as the first brothers to achieve the feat, Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and KTM’s Pedro Acosta outscored Bagnaia. He finished the year 65 and 19 points adrift of the Italian and Spaniard.

Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi felt Bagnaia “found his way again” during the Valencia test, having had the chance to sample their aero package for 2026. But Bagnaia will know he has to hit back on the circuit when Marquez has returned from his injury to prove he is back.