Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia’s woes at Ducati have carried into 2026, and there have been some theories as to what is causing his problems.
It was a miserable 2025 campaign for the two-time MotoGP champion as he constantly complained about a lack of feeling from the GP25. Heading into 2026, it was hoped that those problems had subsided.
Bagnaia felt much more comfortable on the GP26 during pre-season testing, as he could get a feeling from the front in braking and was much closer to Marc Marquez. Then, at the Thailand Grand Prix, issues arose again.
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Bagnaia was knocked out in Q1 in Buriram and struggled to make up ground on Saturday and Sunday, finishing ninth in both races. The feeling that he had from the bike in pre-season was completely different.
Michele Pirro saw Bagnaia struggling with the same problems he had in 2025, with there being ‘no obvious explanation’. Journalist Mat Oxley had a theory about Ducati’s bike, but Davide Tardozzi appeared to shut that down.
Davide Tardozzi said Mat Oxley was ‘wrong’ to think Ducati’s engine was causing Francesco Bagnaia’s woes
Bagnaia could not work the tyres in Thailand, which contributed to his poor results over the weekend. It was a continuation of his issues from 2025, as he looked miles off the pace.
Ducati questioned Bagnaia multiple times last year as they tried to work out what was really going wrong for the Italian. Oxley theorised that it was to do with the engine, but Tardozzi told him in the pit lane in Buriram that he was wrong.
He said via the Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast: “If they could have just fixed Pecco’s problems by changing the ride height device they would have done it, which is why we always come back to, that it had to be the engine.
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“Although I was taking photos in pit lane during the morning warm up at Buriram I was taking pictures of the bike, because the pit walk on Sunday morning is quite a good time to take photos because every factory has a bike out the front, every team has a bike out the front or two bikes out the front.
“And Tardozzi came out going from the box to the pit wall and said: ‘You are wrong, you made a big mistake,’ and gave me a bit of a slap which was quite weird.
“So he’s obviously talking about mine and Peter’s, not just me, theory that it has to be the engine that caused the vagueness.
“It’s just due to, as we’ve talked about many times, we’re not going to go on about it much longer, it’s the inertia, the way the engine brake works basically, and how that loads the front tyre and all that kind of stuff. So even the engine character can affect the front end field going to a corner.”
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Francesco Bagnaia now faces a critical period to prove his worth in MotoGP
There has been only one race weekend in 2026, but Bagnaia’s issues remain. He cannot afford to have another season like last year, with his reputation already damaged.
But Valentino Rossi says Bagnaia is ‘lost’ at Ducati. He has not been able to match the performance of teammate Marquez, who has consistently had the better of him.
The Italian needs to improve his form and find solutions over the next few races. With the Brazilian GP coming up, it is the perfect chance to find something, given that it is a new track for everyone.
Livio Suppo says Bagnaia ‘needs to prove’ his titles weren’t down to Ducati, but rather show that he can still perform as a rider. If he cannot, it will only hurt his status in MotoGP more.
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