Two-time MotoGP world champion Pecco Bagnaia is having a nightmare season on the Ducati GP25. With just one win in 2025 compared to 11 in 2024, the Italian appears adrift. The Hungarian Grand Prix marked a new low: a failure in Q1, zero points in the sprint, and a dismal ninth place in the main race. He now sits 227 points behind his teammate Marc Marquez, the championship leader, who recorded a seventh consecutive weekend at Balaton Park with 37 points.
Uccio Salucci, team director VR46 MotoGP, did not mince his words on TNT Sports before the Hungarian Grand Prix : " It's hard to say what's going on, I don't stay in his box. But I spoke with him yesterday and I said, 'Please Pecco, Forza,' because now, sometimes I check the data: it doesn't brake, it doesn't drive the right way »
Salucci goes further: " It's as if he's lost a bit of motivation, and also confidence with the bike. The first thing is to get back on the bike like Pecco Bagnaia, to enjoy it a bit. I know it's not easy, but please, Pecco, try., because he is a two-time MotoGP champion and a fantastic rider. It's not nice to see Pecco like this. I don't like it. »
Salucci explains the setbacks of bagnaia by the specificities of the Ducati GP25. According to him, Marc Marquez, accustomed to a more difficult GP23 at the front in 2023, adapted more quickly to the GP25: “ when Marquez arrived, the 2025 bike was not his bike, especially at the beginning, because the front part did not give much sensation to Pecco, to Di Giannantonio »
Why does Marc Marquez shine while Pecco Bagnaia sinks?
More Marquez knew how to do well: “ Marquez went fast with the 2023, which was very difficult. He arrives at 2025, it's much better., and he goes faster and faster because he has a good feeling. » Conversely, bagnaia, accustomed to the more efficient GP24, is struggling to find his bearings: “ Pecco, perhaps, arrived with the 2024 bike, and the 2025 one has some problems. Marquez is stepping up and It's easy to lose the feeling with these kinds of problems »
Le Hungarian Grand Prix was an ordeal for bagnaiaEliminated in Q1, 13th in the sprint without points, and handicapped by gearbox problems (only one lap completed in the warm-up), he could only limit the damage with a ninth place in the race, 14 seconds behind Marquez, untouchable winner. Yet, a glimmer of hope emerges: Ducati opted for a radical reconfiguration of the Desmosedici, modifying its mass repair to improve sensations.
Despite the disappointing results, bagnaia remains optimistic: I'm quite satisfied. Not with the result, but with the sensations.. I controlled the motorcycle, and the motorcycle did not control me. » He explains: « I noticed the first improvements on Saturday and I felt better. My corner entry stability has improved significantly. Lap after lap, I felt better on Sunday.. » This change, described as “radical” by the pilot, could mark a turning point: “ It was not a small step, but a radical change in the organization. Fortunately, It was a step in the right directionI immediately understood that there was great potential. »
With the next Grand Prix in Catalonia, bagnaia hopes to capitalize on this progress. “I’ll start in Barcelona and work from there. We’ll see if I progress.” But I'm sure it will get better., » he promises. Despite a complicated season and regulations limiting technical developments, the driver from the VR46 Academy is laying solid foundations to bounce back and aim for at least second place in the championship. Is the champion ready to roar again in MotoGP ? Answer in Barcelona!
