Francesco Bagnaia’s painful 2025 season has to be seen through the lens of Marc Marquez with his incredible success on the other side of the Ducati garage.
Bagnaya He finished third of the six Ducati riders in the championship, ahead of GP25 rider Fabio Di Gianntonio (VR46). He won four races, including the Sprints, and scored 15 podiums.
Those numbers make it look like a strong season for Bagnaia, but the comparison Marquez It is cursed. The Spaniard, who has missed the last four tournaments through injury, averaged 30.3 points over the weekend, while Bagnaya averaged just 13.1.
David Tardozzi thinks Francesco Bagnaia is back 👀 How many races will he win in 2026?
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In the hands of Marquez, the Ducati The GP25 looks like one of the greatest motorcycles ever built, winning 25 races. In the Bagnaia, it looked like an incredible and incredible machine that ultimately lost out to Aprilia and KTM.
Marc Marquez tells Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia how to ‘wait’.
Ahead of the start of the 2025 season, the media were closely following Ducati’s body language, confident of a fierce rivalry between the reigning champion and the future legend.
But within a few laps it became clear that Marquez and Bagnaia were chasing different objectives and their position in the team changed.
Marquez was filmed giving advice to Bagnaia. At the time, the Italian rider began to question himself and his team.
Rank the five factory team lineups for the 2026 season
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to speak Motorsport SpainDavide Tardozzi revealed that Marquez told Ducati how to manage Bagnaia at low speeds. Tardozzi was impressed by his ‘supportive’ behavior.
He said, “Look, I’m going to tell you something that I’ve only told a few people.”
“During Peco’s most difficult times, especially on two specific occasions, Mark told me what to do or not to do so as not to upset him, because he was doing too well and it was disturbing Peco’s peace of mind, believe me.
“I’ve never seen this in another rider. A patronizing and protective attitude towards Peco, trying to temper the enthusiasm surrounding his victories.
“I don’t want to say when and where the two situations happened, because it wouldn’t be fair, but in my opinion he showed the character of a great man, a very good man.”
Pecco Bagnaia has more priority than fighting for the MotoGP title.
Bagnaia said Marquez showed a ‘show’ It’s not like he’s letting his mixed feelings over Ducati overshadow his own achievements as he celebrates.
Once again, Tardozzi spoke to himself. Bagnaia and Marquez really work as friendsAnd both drivers spoke highly of the relationship.
One can forgive Bagnaia for feeling a little resentful. Having previously won the 2022 and 2023 titles, he has been Ducati’s poster boy.
If Marquez was still on Honda, Bagnaia would probably have won a few more races last year and his season would have looked very different. The growing gap on Marquez likely prompted his desperate attempt.
But heading into the 2026 season, Bagnaia really seems to be focused on himself. He doesn’t talk about fighting Marquez for the title; He wants to enjoy driving again.
