17/11/2025

Why «dreamer» Francesco Bagnaia has hope after “maybe the worst” MotoGP season

Francesco Bagnaia says he still wants to ‘believe’ that he and Ducati can turn things around after what he described as “maybe the worst” year of his MotoGP career.

Bagnaia made that comment following the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix, after an ill-judged move from LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco sent him into the gravel just four corners into the race.

It marked the fifth consecutive retirement for the two-time MotoGP champion, who last finished a Sunday race in Japan back in September — where he sensationally won from pole position.

Bagnaia endured a wretched season on the GP25 this year, as he struggled with a bike that he felt didn’t suit his riding style or behave the way he wanted to on track.

While he was still able to bag regular podium finishes in the first half of the season, his form nosedived after the summer break, leaving him often failing to progress into Q2 on Saturdays and running at the back of the pack on Sundays.

The late slump saw him drop from third to fifth in the championship, losing places to not just Aprilia’s in-form man Marco Bezzecchi but also KTM sophomore Pedro Acosta.

Bagnaia, who did not blame Zarco for the Valencia crash, said he hopes Tuesday’s Valencia test will offer him a glimmer of hope before the winter break.

“One of the hardest [seasons] and maybe the worst season I had — mostly the last part,” he said, summing up his wretched campaign.

“There is not much more to say about it. I said enough during the season.

“Now, I’m just looking forward to riding the bike in the test, hoping that we will find a solution. I’m a dreamer, so I’m still thinking and believing it will be possible, and see if we can start with a good pace for the test in February.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

The stewards found Zarco responsible for the collision with Bagnaia and handed him a long lap penalty, which left the Frenchman 12th at the finish.

Bagnaia, meanwhile, watched the early part of the race from Turn 4, then walked back to the paddock on his own, skipping the scooter ride offered by a marshal.

“Surely, after this season, I just would have liked to enjoy, to have fun during the race,” he said.

“For three corners, I had fun. And I think the possibility of a good race was there. To finish in the top seven, top six was possible, considering the feeling, and the fact that I was with the medium [tyre] and the big fuel tank.”

Bagnaia started the Valencia weekend on the back foot, as he missed the direct cut into Q2 on Friday. A fuel miscalculation in qualifying made things worse, consigning him to 16th on the grid. He could finish no higher than 14th in the sprint, and while he made a brilliant launch in the grand prix, the incident with the gravel ended his race after just four corners.

A philosophical Bagnaia felt he had been ‘attracting negativity’, as one setback seemed to trigger another during the gruelling final stretch of races in 2025.

“Crashing today, having an issue yesterday [Saturday], having an issue on a Friday morning,” he summed up. “Negativity is never the key, and when you start to have negative thinking, you attract it. I attract negative feelings, and it’s what happened to us, I think.

“Everybody was tired, and the season was quite tough for everybody — it was long. And if you’re enjoying during the season, even if it’s long, you arrive in a quite easy way in the last part.

“In our situation, we were reaching top three in the championship, and then not reaching [this target]. I was aiming for the top two, one or two, in the championship, and then what happened happened.

“Also, the team started to be tired, like me, and it’s difficult to work in that situation. I made many mistakes, like yesterday in qualifying for not being able to already be fast in the first attempt, and the team also did one [fuel miscalculation]. But it’s part of the job.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Bagnaia’s contract with Ducati expires at the end of 2026, just before the start of MotoGP’s new 850cc era.

While the 2025 MotoGP season was a successful one for Ducati, as it swept all three titles following the arrival of Marc Marquez in the factory garage, Bagnaia’s poor form has raised concern for Borgo Panigale and fuelled speculation about their long-term future.

But the 28-year-old reiterated that he wants to stay with the team with which he won titles in 2022 and ‘23, and finished runner-up last year.

“I want to continue with Ducati,” he stressed. “I started with Ducati. They gave me the possibility. They gave me the chance to win the title. I gave them the title.

“We improved the bike [over the years]. Now it’s a bike that everybody can use.

“My ambition is to finish my career with them.”