Francesco Bagnaia is staring at a second winless season in a row at the 2026 summer break, but his first true opportunity for a Grand Prix win also offers a shot at revenge.
The 28-year-old was the King in Grand Prix races between 2022 and 2024, having taken 25 victories from the 60 races held. But since Jorge Martin beat Bagnaia to win the 2024 title at the final round in Valencia, the Ducati rider has only scored two wins from the next 33 races.
Turin native Bagnaia’s two wins through the 2025 season were also as unusual as they were rare, given his form until that point. Bagnaia never adapted to the GP25, as Ducati changed the front suspension forks on the bike in their bid to further optimise the ride height device.
Bagnaia earned a befuddling first win of the 2025 season on merit in Japan, when the 2022 and 2023 MotoGP champion went from failing to finish on a podium to doing the double at Motegi. He had earlier won in the United States in 2025 but only as Marc Marquez crashed.
Predict the Ducati head-to-head standings at the end of the 2026 MotoGP season!
Marc Marquez has dominated Francesco Bagnaia through the first 11/22 rounds
Francesco Bagnaia must view the Austrian GP as his first chance to win a Grand Prix in 2026
Now, even though Bagnaia has adapted miles better to the GP26 than he did with the GP25, Ducati are still waiting for their soon-to-be-former rider to secure a Grand Prix win this year. Bagnaia will join Aprilia on a four-year contract after Ducati replaced him with Pedro Acosta.
READ MORE: The best moments of Francesco Bagnaia’s MotoGP career
Bagnaia scored his first Sprint win of 2026 at Brno, where he also took his fourth Grand Prix podium so far with a fourth P3 finish. But Bagnaia has not come close to scoring a win, and he might even have to wait another four rounds to relish his first true opportunity for glory.
MotoGP visits Silverstone, MotorLand Aragon, Misano and the Red Bull Ring in the first four rounds after the summer break. Aprilia will be expected to win the British Grand Prix, while Marquez will be the favourite at Aragon and also to fight the Aprilias at the San Marino GP.
Bagnaia, then, faces waiting until the Austrian Grand Prix on September 18-20 to secure his first win of the season. Ducati saw Bagnaia emerge as the King of the Red Bull Ring through the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, and he even did the double in Austria in the latter two.
Past success is no guarantee of further joy, admittedly, which Bagnaia experienced last year. Ducati general manager Luigi Dall’Igna was livid at the end of the 2025 Austrian GP after the best that Bagnaia managed in the Grand Prix was P8 and cut 12.486s adrift as Marquez won.
Dall’Igna called Bagnaia’s 2025 Austrian GP a “wasted opportunity”, as his “underwhelming” performance at the Red Bull Ring wasted all of the potential he showed during practice. His Sprint performance in Austria last season was also frustrating, as he retired after eight laps.
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So, given that Bagnaia feels more at one with the GP26 than he ever was with the GP25, the 2026 Austrian GP offers the Italian not only his first real chance to win a Grand Prix this year but a shot at revenge. The biggest issue, though, may be his teammate’s form in September.
While Marquez has never been the King of the Red Bull Ring, as Ducati were often able to be a thorn in his side with Andrea Dovizioso during the Spaniard’s years with Honda, he did the double at the 2025 Austrian GP and is the most in-form rider in 2026 at the summer break.
Marquez scored 133 points through the past five rounds since his return from injury at the Italian Grand Prix, while Bagnaia earned the eighth-most points over that same period with 80. Only Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura rivalled Marquez’s recent form, as he scored 117 points.
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