Francesco Bagnaia has expressed strong admiration for Jack Miller, highlighting both his character and teamwork after sharing a garage for four consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2022. Their collaboration began when Miller was already an established rider at Pramac and Bagnaia arrived fresh off winning the Moto2 championship. Initially, Miller had the upper hand, securing top-eight finishes while Bagnaia struggled in the lower midfield.
The dynamic changed when both riders advanced to Ducati’s factory team, where Bagnaia finished as vice-champion behind Fabio Quartararo in 2021 before clinching the world title in 2022.
Bagnaia Highlights Miller’s Genuine Support During Challenging Moments
During an appearance on The BSMT podcast, Bagnaia recounted how Miller provided crucial backing during his title fight with Quartararo. Although Miller lost his Ducati seat at the end of 2022 due to the arrival of Enea Bastianini, he returned to Pramac for the 2025 season, now aboard a Yamaha. The strong bond between the two riders has persisted beyond their factory tenure. Miller has also gained praise for his leadership at Pramac, where he assists World Superbike star Toprak Razgatlioglu in adapting to MotoGP.
Bagnaia spoke warmly about Miller, saying,
“Miller is a fantastic person. For me, he is an extremely genuine and fantastic person. Even today, we really chat a lot.”
There was a race where he let me pass, but he was fantastic in everything.
Jack Miller’s Thoughts on Bagnaia’s Recent Performance Decline
Jack Miller shared his perspective on Bagnaia’s difficulties last season, attributing the drop-off to a loss of confidence.
“It’s a confidence thing, it’s a feeling thing,”
Miller explained when discussing Bagnaia’s performance slump (via Crash.net). He observed Bagnaia during a Sprint race at Aragon and noticed the rider was “rather neutral with the bike” because of a lack of trust, which prevented him from using his body as aggressively as he once did.
Bagnaia’s results have suffered, slipping to fifth in the 2025 standings and starting the new season with a ninth-place finish in Thailand. This downturn has fueled speculation that Bagnaia won’t retain his factory Ducati seat, which is expected to go to Pedro Acosta. Reports indicate Bagnaia may be preparing to move to Aprilia in the near future.
Miller has expressed relief at no longer facing the intense pressure at Ducati that Bagnaia continues to encounter during this challenging phase of his career.
