Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia admits he felt like an “outsider” through the 2025 MotoGP season after failing to fight for the riders’ championship for the first time in his Ducati career.
The 29-year-old had either finished first or second in the riders’ standings during each of his first four seasons with the Bologna Bullets. But fifth place was all that Bagnaia could achieve in 2025, as he finished 257 points adrift as his Ducati teammate Marc Marquez won the title.
Bagnaia even trailed Marquez by 267 points when the latter lifted the title in Japan after the first 17 rounds, which was enough for the Italian to rank third at the time. Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi and KTM ace Pedro Acosta leapfrogged Bagnaia to finish 65 and 19 points ahead.
While Marquez suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during the Indonesian Grand Prix in round 18, Bagnaia only reduced his deficit to the Spaniard by just 10 points. Bagnaia won the Sprint in Malaysia from pole position, but he failed to finish any of the final five Grands Prix.
Prove me wrong: Francesco Bagnaia’s confidence is the first thing he must improve
Francesco Bagnaia admits he ‘could have done more’ to adapt to Ducati’s 2025 bike
Bagnaia ultimately finished the 2025 campaign with just two Grand Prix wins to his name in America and Japan. The Turin native may have fought for the victory in Malaysia but for the puncture he suffered, and he only triumphed at COTA after Marquez crashed from the lead.
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Reflecting on his troubles last season, Bagnaia now admits that he does not feel “very good” about how the year unfolded as he could have done more to adapt to Ducati’s bike. Ducati’s ride height device regularly troubled Bagnaia due to how it changed how his GP25 behaved.
“I came from four seasons in which I always finished first or second,” Bagnaia stated on the Supernova podcast. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find the balance to be consistently fast and I had more flashes. I felt more like an outsider than a regular contender for the title.
“I’m not feeling very good about it because I recognise that we could have done more. Well, on many occasions I was the one who didn’t perform as well as I should. I couldn’t adapt to the situation as I should have, and then we had some misfortune.
“Having a flat tyre in the race [in Malaysia] when I was second and fighting for the win. So, we also had some misfortune that hadn’t been felt for I don’t know how long. But in my case, I live with the fact that everything serves as a lesson. Everything helps.”
Francesco Bagnaia must rediscover his braking strength on Ducati’s 2026 bike
Francesco Bagnaia will finish … in the MotoGP championship in 2026
Bagnaia lamented his problems with braking on Ducati’s 2025 bike, as he failed to show the same level of performance that took him to the 2022 and 2023 titles. His inability to get on top of the Ducati GP25 during qualifying also gave him greater problems during the races.
While Bagnaia likes to brake late, and he is one of the latest brakers on the grid, fighting in the pack denied the Italian arguably his greatest strength in 2025. The dirty air created from the bikes ahead meant Bagnaia had to brake earlier and build his pace through the corners.
Now, questions are growing concerning Bagnaia’s future with Ducati ahead of his contract in Borgo Panigale expiring at the end of the 2026 season. The 31-time premier class Grand Prix winner will hope that Ducati’s GP26 lets him rediscover his feeling to rebuild his confidence.
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