Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia has made it clear that he wants to stay with Ducati. The team will likely give him a chance to recover at the start of 2026 before making a decision on his future.
But if Bagnaia’s increasingly erratic form from 2025 continues, then there’s a very real risk that Ducati will sign a replacement.
Speaking in September, MotoGP pundit Neil Hodgson said there’s a 90% chance that Bagnaia loses his Ducati seat.
Francesco Bagnaia failed to score points in 18 of his 44 races in 2025.
And a recent report from the Italian press claimed that Bagnaia’s exit is practically ‘sealed’ already. If true, the next question is where the 2022 and 2023 champion will end up next.
Francesco Bagnaia could move to VR46 if Ducati no longer want him
Bagnaia is a graduate of the VR46 academy, which means there may be a seat available for him at Valentino Rossi’s squad if he wants it.
Fellow VR46 alumni Franco Morbidelli, Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini have raced for the team in recent years.
Morbidelli’s future is in doubt after a somewhat underwhelming 2025 season. The other seat is currently occupied by Fabio Di Giannantonio, who’s contracted to Ducati but hasn’t entirely convinced either.
Who is Ducati’s BEST option if they have to replace Francesco Bagnaia?
Speaking on the Paddock Pass podcast this week, journalist Adam Wheeler said Rossi could offer Bagnaia a ‘superb safety cushion’. There are rumours that VR46 could link up with Aprilia in 2027, so he may not be riding a Ducati if he does make the move.
“The easy answer about Pecco is that he has a superb safety cushion if the Ducati factory team don’t want his services anymore, which could be in VR46,” said Wheeler.
“That could be a less pressurised [team]. He’d be even more embedded in an environment that he knows well.
“It would be like the Franco Morbidelli situation we found in 2025.”
The two MotoGP factories showing interest in Pecco Bagnaia
Bagnaia’s stock is at its lowest point right now, but he remains one of only five riders to win multiple titles in the MotoGP era. He also ranks comfortably inside the all-time top 10 for premier-class victories and pole positions.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that Yamaha and Honda are interested in Bagnaia. Honda are big-game hunting again, two years after losing Marc Marquez.
Meanwhile, Yamaha are aware that Fabio Quartararo may leave after he expressed growing impatience. There’s a possibility that Bagnaia partners Toprak Razgatlioglu at Paolo Pavesio’s team.
If Bagnaia is to leave the sanctuary of the Ducati factory squad, where he has raced since 2021, then he may prefer the familiarity of the VR46 environment.
Moving to Yamaha would be a radical step, but perhaps that’s what he needs.
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