Bagnaia Faces Crisis as MotoGP Struggles Deepen: “I See No Way Out”

Francesco Bagnaia admits he’s experiencing one of the most challenging periods of his MotoGP career, following a disastrous weekend at MotorLand Aragon where he failed to score points after finishing 11th in the sprint and crashing out of Sunday’s main event.

Despite showing promising form before the summer break—including a sprint victory at Brno—Bagnaia’s performance has sharply declined since the championship resumed at Silverstone, leaving the factory Ducati rider visibly frustrated and searching for solutions.

“I’m giving everything I can, always, in every situation, every session,” Bagnaia stated in his post-race interview. “I arrive at the garage trying to be as clear as possible, because in any case we are all looking for a solution that doesn’t come.”

“So when you then have a weekend like this, a weekend like Silverstone, you end up on the ground pushing, but your pushing means lapping a second slower than the fastest. It mortifies you and above all it is humiliating at this moment.”

“It is perhaps one of the lowest moments of my sporting career, because I see no way out at the moment and the situation is the same as in the first race. In fact, in the last two races it has almost worsened, and therefore it is tough.”

Persistent Handling Issues

From Friday practice at MotorLand Aragon, it was evident Bagnaia faced significant challenges, struggling to 13th position while his Ducati teammates secured direct entry to Q2. The Italian revealed he had to stop on track after the session to compose himself, unwilling to return to the garage while still angry with his performance.

While qualifying showed marginal improvement, Bagnaia lacked the pace necessary to contend for a top-10 sprint result. His Sunday race ended prematurely on lap six of 23 when he slid into the gravel while running seventh.

“The lack of rear grip is too much,” Bagnaia explained. “Because the reality is that I have zero grip. Completely zero grip.”

“I put the engine map with less power after five laps because the rear was completely finished in five laps. Without pushing, without doing anything. I was struggling a lot. I lost the rear, and when the rear came back, I lost the front.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Qian Jun / MB Media / Getty Images

Fighting to Regain Form

Bagnaia has battled persistent rear grip issues throughout the season, with Aragon’s high-traction surface exacerbating the problem rather than providing relief. Following another difficult weekend, he expressed concerns about upcoming circuits with lower grip levels.

“From Silverstone, something happened because I don’t have grip. Completely zero,” he explained. “I don’t know when we will arrive in other circuits where the level of grip is lower. So I can’t imagine it.”

“I gave everything I could to Ducati, in all situations. It’s difficult now to accept that the situation can be like this despite the effort I put into it.”

“I look at the data, even old data, and the things I see others doing now don’t come to me anymore. So I’m in a situation where with today’s bike I can’t ride in a natural way, and when I try to do something more, I crash.”

Battling Self-Doubt

Building on a difficult 2025 campaign marked by six retirements in the final seven races, Bagnaia acknowledged ongoing self-doubt about his current form and abilities in 2026.

“This is something I was falling into last year, and then fortunately came the test in Misano and the race in Japan. And there I removed every single doubt and I saw that I just need to feel good and I’m still in the game to fight with the top three,” he reflected.

When asked if he could replicate his dominant performance from last year’s Japanese Grand Prix, Bagnaia added: “I don’t know, but I hope so.”

Source link