Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia had a good weekend at the Czech Grand Prix, winning the Sprint and finishing third in the main race on Sunday.
Bagnaia has now scored four Grand Prix podiums this year and eight overall, a marked improvement on the second half of last season. He is seventh in the standings but within 30 points of Fabio Di Giannantonio in third, making the VR46 rider a realistic target.
He led the race on Sunday after a gutsy pass on Marquez, but rather predictably fell away. After dropping behind his teammate and Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura, he saw off the late threat of Di Giannantonio to secure P3.
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Marc Marquez could have lost Czech GP to Ai Ogura – Ducati need to intervene
Bagnaia is only 13 points behind Marquez in the championship, and he beat him on merit in two of the three competitive sessions this weekend. But the events on Sunday should prompt Ducati to impose team orders.
After their early tussle, it took Marquez until lap 16 to dispatch Bagnaia for good. The Spaniard looked considerably quicker and he demonstrated as much after the overtake, stretching the gap to 2.3 seconds by the chequered flag.
However, Marquez came under late pressure from Ogura, the pole-sitter who is making a habit of finishing races strong. The Trackhouse rider was just four-tenths behind over the line.
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Marquez may have held on here, but this race should be a warning to Ducati. The reigning champion lost crucial time fighting his teammate when the pass seemed inevitable anyway and, with a couple more laps, Ogura might have made him pay.
With Aprilia borderline imploding over the last two race weekends, Marquez has a genuine and perhaps unexpected shot at winning the world championship, though he is still 40 points adrift.
And while he can beat anyone when at his best, Bagnaia hasn’t done enough to be taken seriously as a contender.
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Ducati should inform Bagnaia that, if the Brno situation occurs again, he must let his teammate through without a fight. That is in the best interests of the team at this stage, particularly with the #63 heading to Aprilia at the end of the year.
Bagnaia is a two-time world champion with Ducati, so it would be a painful conversation for Luigi Dall’Igna and Davide Tardozzi, but they shouldn’t let sentiment dictate their management.
Just as Jack Miller was expected to help Bagnaia when he hunted down Fabio Quartararo in 2022, Bagnaia himself should now be playing a supporting role at Borgo Panigale.
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