Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia’s 2025 MotoGP season was a disaster that not even Ducati could have foreseen.
After dominating the championship with the GP24 in 2024, the GP25 was a step back for the Borgo Panigale outfit. Nevertheless, Ducati still controlled the season, with Marc Marquez winning the title with 11 Grand Prix and 14 Sprint wins.
The trouble was that Marquez was the only rider to extract consistent performance from the GP25. On the other side of the Ducati garage, Bagnaia was struggling to find a feeling from the front end.
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He won just two races in 2025 and finished fifth in the standings behind his teammate, Alex Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta. The Italian’s struggles were well documented as he constantly complained about the bike and demanded changes.
Bagnaia gave Ducati an ultimatum to give him GP24 parts. They obliged, and he went on to win at Motegi, only to not finish the last five races of the season with the same machine.
Luigi Dall’Igna said Ducati were ‘fed up’ with Bagnaia and his lack of results in 2025. After Marquez ruled himself out of the final four races through injury in Indonesia, the factory team scored just two points in his absence, courtesy of stand-in rider Nicolo Bulega.
Luigi Dall’Igna admits Ducati didn’t get Francesco Bagnaia in the right ‘conditions’ to perform at his best in 2025
Bagnaia admits he made a ‘big mistake’ not appreciating his seven podiums in the first half of 2025. Those results dried out after the summer break, scoring just one podium – his win at Motegi.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ducati boss Dall’Igna looked back on the 2025 season, and he admits that the team were not able to get Bagnaia what he needed to perform.
Assessing the season overall, he said: “Without a doubt, it has been a wonderful year. I would say that the last few years have all been wonderful.
“All of our riders this year managed to reach the podium, and four of them won a race. It is definitely a wonderful year.”
Dall’Igna then admitted that not everything went smoothly as he spoke about Bagnaia: “We weren’t able to get Pecco into the conditions where he could have performed at his best. Sometimes things don’t turn out the way you want, but rather the way they want to.”
Nevertheless, the Ducati engineer refused to let the situation put a negative on the season: “Nobody does everything perfectly all the time. The overall result is absolutely positive.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
Could Francesco Bagnaia now have the tools to win again in 2026?
Bagnaia has had internal ‘conversations’ with Ducati and realised that the GP25 was not the only issue in 2025. He has taken responsibility for his poor results and has looked to reset over the winter.
With Ducati rolling out the GP26 in 2026, the Italian will be refreshed and hoping that the bike is more suited to his riding style. Judging by pre-season testing, thus far, it could well be the case.
Prove me wrong: Francesco Bagnaia deserves another chance at Ducati in 2027
Bagnaia was relieved to improve his one-lap pace at Sepang. The 29-year-old was faster than teammate Marquez in the race simulations during the test.
He appears to have a much better feeling on the bike, and according to Manuel Poggiali, Bagnaia is more focused on improving the GP26. The Italian is desperate to improve his fortunes and right the wrongs of 2025.
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