Francesco Bagnaia confused by Ducati issue that hits only in races

Bagnaia also crashed during qualifying for the Brazilian GP, forcing him to start both races from 11th on the grid. The two-time champion went down early in Q2 and couldn’t post a competitive time, even after getting back out.

The crash in Brazil has raised even more questions for Bagnaia, especially since he’d felt good on the bike during practice and in Sunday’s warm-up. Now he’s trying to figure out why those issues only show up during races.

“FP2 I was in the front [group], this morning [in the warm-up] I was in the front. I just made a mistake in qualifying, but the pace was good. Strange that then in the race I was struggling like this yesterday, like this today. I just need to improve.

“[It] looks like we are struggling quite a lot to stop the bike and have a normal corner speed, and then also the rear grip, it’s not very constant. During the [practice] sessions, yes, I feel much better [with the Ducati GP26]. In the races, no.”

The Italian rider wasn’t able to adapt last season either as he struggled with his braking on board his Desmosedici which resulted in him not being confident under braking throughout most of last season.

This year though it was looking much better for Bagnaia as he looked stronger through pre-season testing but so far, once again, he is finding it tough throughout practice.

All the issues that emerged last season eventually led Bagnaia to admit he did not feel “very good” about his 2025 campaign, acknowledging that he could have done more to adapt to the GP25. It remains to be seen whether he will make the necessary adjustments and get the GP26 to perform effectively in race conditions.