Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia enters 2026 with a new mindset, as the Italian accepts his outlook in 2025 was a direct cause behind his worst year with the Bologna Bullets.
Bagnaia won the 2022 and 2023 MotoGP riders’ titles as he secured Ducati their first crowns since Casey Stoner conquered the world in 2007. The Turin native also fell only 26 points shy of the 2021 title and 10 points short in 2024, yet he finished the 2025 season 257 points shy.
Marc Marquez even led Bagnaia by 267 points when the Spaniard won the 2025 title at the Japanese Grand Prix during round 17 of 22. Bagnaia only took 10 points out of his deficit to his Ducati teammate, despite Marquez missing the final four rounds of 2025 through injury.
Upon reflection, Bagnaia realises he “could have done more” to adapt to Ducati’s 2025 bike, having failed to improve his feeling for the front end of the GP25 throughout the season. His issues ultimately culminated in him failing to finish six of the final seven Grands Prix in 2025.
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Bagnaia won the Japanese GP, as well as the Sprint at Motegi, from pole position for his only Grand Prix finish across the final seven rounds. He crashed out at Misano, Mandalika, Phillip Island, Portimao and Valencia, and he was made to retire at Sepang due to a hole in his tyre.
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Such a frustrating finish to the 2025 campaign made Bagnaia realise that he had lost sight of the “value of results” after fighting for the title in each of the previous four seasons. Bagnaia even admits that he would now “pay” for a result like his P4 finish in the 2025 Argentina GP.
Bagnaia told PecinoGP: “There were times last year when a third-place finish made me very angry. And when you lose sight of the value of results, you lose your way a little, in my opinion. And that was something that prevented me from working at my best.
“There were good results, such as in Argentina, where I finished fourth, which at that moment was the best I could do given the difficulties I was having with riding, something that I would pay for at the end of the championship for a fourth place.”
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Bagnaia started the 2025 MotoGP season on the back foot compared to Marquez, as he only achieved one win, one P2 finish, five P3 finishes and two P4 finishes over the first 12 rounds. Marquez, in contrast, sealed eight wins, a P2 finish and a P3 finish before the summer break.
Additionally, Bagnaia only won the Americas GP after Marquez crashed from the lead during round three at COTA last March. Results then proved even harder for Bagnaia to secure after the summer break, as Marquez continued to dominate until his shoulder injury last October.
A P4 finish would have been bleak for Bagnaia in any of the four seasons in which he fought for the title. Bagnaia also only finished off the podium five times across 20 races in 2023 and four times over 20 races in 2024. Now, the Italian recognises that success warped his reality.
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