Pecco Bagnaia endured another nightmare in Barcelona, finishing a distant 14th in the Catalan Grand Prix sprint after starting from a disastrous 21st on the grid.
It was a bitter contrast to November last year, when the double world champion lit up the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with pole position and two victories in the Solidarity Grand Prix. That weekend had been one of his strongest of 2024, a reminder of the calm and precision that nearly delivered him a third straight crown. But ten months later, the same venue offered only fresh misery.
From promise to despair
Coming off a tough Hungary weekend, which many believed was rock bottom for his 2025 campaign, Bagnaia arrived in Spain hopeful that a set-up breakthrough at Balaton Park would be the reset his season needed. Instead, Friday practice already told the story—Bagnaia was adrift of the top 20 in both sessions.
Qualifying compounded the pain. Limping to 21st, it was his worst starting slot in over three years, since the crash in Portugal 2022 that kept him from even taking part in Q2. With Alex Marquez setting a blistering lap record of 1m37.5s, Bagnaia’s best effort was stuck in the high 1m38s, and he managed just four such laps all weekend.
Sprint struggles laid bare
The 12-lap sprint was a grim inevitability. Ducati sporting director Davide Tardozzi admitted before the race that there would be no major bike changes, instead stressing the need to “protect Bagnaia’s mental strength.” But once the lights went out, nothing changed.
While Marc Marquez produced another commanding performance on the GP25 and Fabio Di Giannantonio kept himself in the fight, Bagnaia never dipped below the 1m40s mark. The numbers told the tale:
- Marc Marquez average pace: 1m39.624s
- Di Giannantonio average pace: 1m39.937s
- Bagnaia average pace: 1m40.634s
That left Bagnaia over a full second slower per lap than his Ducati teammate, and nearly seven-tenths off Di Giannantonio. His fastest lap was 1.437s shy of Marquez’s best.
For most of the sprint, Bagnaia languished in 20th. Only collisions ahead—first Franco Morbidelli with Jorge Martin, then Fermin Aldeguer with Marco Bezzecchi—bumped him into the points-scoring fringe, before Alex Marquez’s crash promoted him to a final finish of 14th.
Searching for answers
The decline has left the reigning champion unable to explain why he is so far from the form that once made Catalunya a fortress. In 2025, his difficulties in the shorter sprints have become a theme, with the smaller fuel load appearing to magnify his front-end problems.
At the time of writing, Bagnaia had yet to face the media to account for his latest disappointment. But as Ducati’s GP25 continues to deliver results in the hands of others, the pressure on its factory star has never looked heavier.
