Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia’s relationship with Ducati took a turn in 2025, to the point where the team had to speak to his manager after he unleashed his fury towards them.
The Italian could not adapt to the GP25, while teammate Marc Marquez found no issues as he cruised to his seventh MotoGP title. Bagnaia constantly complained about having no feeling at the front end, and he was considerably off the pace.
Finishing fifth in the standings with six DNFs in the last seven races, Ducati were at a loss to explain his struggles, and it caused friction within Bagnaia’s box.
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Mauro Grassilli reveals Ducati conversations with Francesco Bagnaia’s manager after ‘very strong’ comments
Bagnaia had been demanding modifications to the GP25 throughout 2025, including going back to GP24 parts. It seemed to work as he claimed victory at Motegi, but he did not finish a race after that weekend.
Bagnaia blasted the bike as ‘unacceptable’ in Indonesia, highlighting the problems he was facing and the growing tension between him and Ducati. For sporting director Mauro Grassilli, 2025 was the ‘main reason’ for why the two parties are parting ways.
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He said via the #ZamTube YouTube channel: “Well, I think that 2025 was, for both of us – not just for Ducati, but also for Pecco – the main reason, shall we say, that led us – us as Ducati and Pecco as an athlete, as a rider – to decide not to continue working together in the future.
“You see, certainly in 2025 – both from a sporting point of view and, to some extent, from a team-room perspective – unfortunately we had some issues that led us to think that perhaps there couldn’t be a future together at this point.”
Bagnaia will join Aprilia in 2027 on a four-year deal. Davide Tardozzi described the move as the best thing ‘for both parties’ after the Italian’s ‘very strong’ criticism of the team last year, which prompted a meeting with his manager.
Grassilli added: “Pecco was really struggling at that time; he was frustrated, you see. And as you’ve seen, Ducati never once allowed itself to, how shall I put it, counter or issue statements against what Pecco had said.
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“Because, firstly, it didn’t seem right to us, and secondly, because we wanted to support the rider 100%, just as we still do.
“Some of the comments were very strong. I don’t want to say that we’ve had a few meetings within the company to discuss how to react to these comments.
“We’ve also spoken to Pecco’s manager about these meetings because we wanted to work out together how to get through this difficult period, but some of the comments have certainly had a bit of an impact.”
Tardozzi refuses to say Ducati are disowning Bagnaia, insisting that the team still has a great relationship with him. To this day, he is still the Bologna Bullets’ most successful rider, winning two titles in 2022 and 2023.
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