Francesco Pecco Bagnaia admitted he has no explanation for his miserable form at the Catalan Grand Prix, saying he was riding on the limit, risking crashes multiple times, yet still finished outside the points.
The factory Ducati rider endured his worst qualifying in three years on Saturday, lining up 21st, and made little progress in the sprint — ending 14th in a race with only 18 finishers.
It continued a mid-season slump in which the two-time world champion has finished fourth, seventh, and eighth in the last three races, while also missing Q2 on back-to-back weekends.
But Bagnaia stressed his lack of results was not due to a lack of aggression.
“What is difficult to accept is that I’m struggling while risking crashes a lot,” he said. “Today I risked crashing seven times. I was destroying the rear tyre everywhere, riding one to one-and-a-half seconds slower per lap. It’s strange, very strange. Last year I was much faster. I never had this kind of risk.”
Riding in traffic, he explained, made things worse: “Behind riders, I can’t gain much in some parts, and in others I lose a lot. Riding like this is very difficult.”
Refuses to give up
Bagnaia’s slump has been one of the major stories of 2025, especially as Marc Marquez has transformed Ducati’s garage with 10 grand prix wins and 14 sprint victories, nearly doubling Bagnaia’s points tally.
Still, the Italian vowed to keep fighting.
“Honestly, I’m thinking session by session. I’m a dreamer, and every time I’m hoping to feel better. I will never accept this situation until it’s over. If I have a chance, I’ll always try. I will never give up — I’m not that kind of guy, and I try to do the maximum every time.”
Bagnaia pointed out he was at least able to fight some rivals:
“I overtook [Alex] Rins and [Aleix] Espargaro today. So surely I can do something better. It’s true my feeling with this bike is not the best, but I cannot be 21st in qualifying and only 14th in the sprint.”
No GP24 vs GP25 comparisons
During pre-season, Bagnaia felt last year’s GP24 was faster and better suited to his riding style, but Ducati pressed ahead with the GP25 project.
Asked if there was anything he preferred about the GP25, he refused to compare.
“I don’t want to compare the bikes anymore. This is the bike I have. Marc is doing an outstanding job with it. Maybe today it wasn’t the fastest, but it still won. We have to respect his job and see what he’s doing, because he’s riding in a very perfect way.”
For now, Bagnaia says his only focus is solving his own problems:
“Right now I’m only focused on why I’m struggling like this. In some situations, it’s better just to think about riding, not the rest. That’s what I need to do.”
