Francesco Bagnaia experienced a challenging German MotoGP Sprint, qualifying 11th and finishing 12th, over 20 seconds behind race winner Marc Marquez. The difficult race highlighted ongoing Francesco Bagnaia MotoGP struggles, as the Italian rider struggled to find pace and confidence on the GP25 bike.
Marc Marquez, Bagnaia’s Ducati teammate, secured pole position and executed an impressive wet-race performance, advancing from fifth to first place over the 15-lap sprint. In contrast, Bagnaia was unable to match Marquez’s pace, losing significantly on each lap. Despite his prior success, including a wet race victory at the Thai Grand Prix last season, Bagnaia struggled to adapt to the conditions.
Setup Adjustments Fail to Improve Performance
Between qualifying and the sprint race, Bagnaia and his team made a major setup change on the bike, hoping to improve performance. However, the alteration backfired, leaving him struggling with bike handling and lacking confidence.
He explained,
“Unfortunately, I can’t seem to be competitive and I’m very disappointed with today and with my performance, because I’m unable to be effective,”
revealing the frustration felt after the race.
“I tried to do things that the bike apparently doesn’t allow me to do,”
he added, underscoring the disconnect between his riding style and the machine’s current behavior.
Bagnaia elaborated on the setup change, saying,
“Today, we tried to make a significant change between qualifying and the race, and it actually made things worse. From the post-race debrief, it’s clear that I lack confidence at the front end, while the rear slides a lot.”
Despite the setback, he expressed hope for finding a better direction for the upcoming race, stating,
“Let’s hope that by taking a different direction, we can turn things around for tomorrow.”
Struggling to Recapture Past Wet-Race Success
Reflecting on his impressive wet victory in Buriram earlier this year, Bagnaia acknowledged that his current loss of form in wet conditions is perplexing. He suggested that the bike’s front-end issues, which have been prominent in dry conditions, appear even more severe when the track is slippery.
Speaking to Sky Italia, he said,
“I’m very disappointed and upset because I won the last race I did in the wet last year, and this year I’m not being competitive. It’s hard to understand because we don’t know why. I can’t be fast, in general, this year I have a poor feeling with the bike, and when you ride in the wet, this problem is amplified even more.”
Bagnaia added that his slow pace in wet races this season is unlike anything he has previously experienced in MotoGP:
“It makes me very sad because I know I can do much more. I don’t remember ever being so slow in MotoGP in the wet… It’s hard to find a solution that probably won’t come. If we don’t manage it, we’ll have another race 40 seconds behind the leader with no grip.”
He described the difficulty in pushing harder without risking a crash:
“It’s incredible how, going so slowly, I want to go faster into the corners but I’m at the mercy of what happens. I can’t exploit my potential, as soon as I push, the rear goes away and I risk spinning.”
Despite this, he noted one positive aspect,
“The only thing I can save is the start because I was able to react, otherwise I’ve always been slow.”
Addressing Speculations About Testing and Performance
Some speculated that Friday’s back-to-back chassis test might have contributed to Bagnaia’s struggles. However, he dismissed this idea, clarifying the situation.
“Yesterday has nothing to do with it,”
Bagnaia said, pointing out that other Ducati riders reported good grip from the soft slick tyres in dry conditions, while he experienced poor grip overall.
“This year it’s a bit of a constant and it’s hard to know where to look for it,”
he admitted, highlighting the ongoing challenge in identifying the root cause of his difficulties.
Team Standings and Upcoming Prospects
Bagnaia’s out-of-points finish in the Sprint allowed Alex Marquez, riding through a hand injury, to secure eighth place and increase his lead over Bagnaia for second place in the overall standings to 60 points. With better weather expected for the Sunday race, there remains hope that Bagnaia and Ducati can improve performance and combat the rider’s ongoing struggles.
