Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia was in turmoil on and off the track in 2025 as his poor results led to rumours of friction behind the scenes.
The Italian could not get to grips with the GP25, constantly complaining about a lack of feeling from the bike. He won just two races in 2025 and finished fifth in the standings.
Bagnaia had been demanding answers from Ducati as he was struggling towards the back of the grid come the end of the season. The team had introduced GP24 parts to his bike at Motegi, which helped him win, only to be last in Indonesia a week later.
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The 29-year-old failed to finish five of the last six races as he bashed his team and the machine. His constant complaints led to rumours of tension between Bagnaia and Ducati’s top management.
It has also prompted speculation about his future, with Bagnaia looking likely to join Yamaha in 2027. Naturally, after such a torrid campaign, the Italian has talked things out with Ducati, and he has come to one conclusion.
Francesco Bagnaia realised the bike was not the problem at the end of 2025 after internal Ducati conversations
As well as there being problems with the bike, Bagnaia was also called into question, as many wondered if it was just him struggling and if the issues with the GP25 were in his head.
As journalist Simon Patterson noted via The Race MotoGP Podcast, that would seem to be the case. He has heard ‘whispers’ that after some ‘conversations’ with Ducati, Bagnaia has realised that the bike was not the issue for his poor form.
“I have heard some whispers that there have been conversations within Ducati post Valencia test last year, where Pecco may have acknowledged that the problems towards the end of the year were not the bike.” he said.
“And that there may have been a bit of a mea culpa moment that means he’s coming to this year a bit more with his head in a better place.
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“And I know we talked about this at length last year, didn’t we, about the problems of the bike started as the number one issue, but then the problems with Pecco on the bike kind of overtook them to become the most important thing.
“And I think Ducati have brought a better bike. Pecco has realised that, that maybe he was responsible for some of the problems that they had last year.
“And the fact that he’s admitted that and dealt with it, the fact that they’ve brought a bike that also addresses the issues he has, generally makes it look like, I think, this is a more put together package this year than it was 12 months ago.
“He did stress and he makes a good point that actually the super important thing is going to be the Buriram test because that was the first red flag last year for him that this wasn’t going to be an easy season. So he’s very keen to ditch Sepang and get to Buriram.”
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‘Whispers in the paddock’ suggest Francesco Bagnaia is having a resurgence at Ducati
Bagnaia and Ducati are hopeful that 2026 will be a much more successful season. With the GP26 looking like it is based on the GP24, which the Italian used to win 11 races in 2024, it should be a much better campaign in 2026.
Bagnaia has already ‘confirmed’ his improved braking during the Sepang test and he seems to be more comfortable with the bike. As Patterson notes, there are ‘whispers in the paddock’ that everything is starting to work for the Ducati rider again.
“I mean, I think the realistic thing is probably that he’s the third best Ducati at the minute, in terms of overall performance and package, because I think it’s worth caveating that Marc is really still hurting and unfit,” he said.
“I’m looking at season long performance. I’m looking at what we can take from this test and play it out across the season. This looks like a bit of a resurgence in Pecco.
“This looks like a return to something more akin to 2024 form where it is working at least. And I’ve heard a few rumours, a few whispers in the paddock about what the kind of entire Ducati situation looks like that makes me think that that’s the case as well.”
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