Francesco Bagnaia experienced a frustrating Saturday at Silverstone, dropping from third to sixth in the MotoGP Sprint due to persistent handling difficulties with his Ducati GP25. Meanwhile, title leader Marc Marquez encountered similar issues for the first time at the fast Silverstone circuit, highlighting a growing challenge for Ducati riders.
Bagnaia initially stayed in third place behind the Marquez brothers, Alex and Marc, but a significant loss of rear grip forced him off pace. This allowed riders like Fabio di Giannantonio on the sister GP25, Marco Bezzecchi on the Aprilia, and Johann Zarco on the LCR Honda to overtake him by the end of the sprint. Despite rear grip being the immediate problem, Bagnaia explained that the root cause lay in the front-end performance of the bike.
Bagnaia Describes Struggles with Rear Grip Related to Front-End Deficiency
Bagnaia opened up about the difficulties he faced early in the race:
I started well. I used a mistake by Fabio [Quartararo] to overtake him and then I tried to follow the first two guys. And after four laps I completely finished the rear tyre,
he said.
He pointed out that the rear tyre wear was not due to the tyre itself, but rather the bike’s unresponsiveness when turning. Because he struggled to enter corners on the right line, Bagnaia had to compensate by forcing the rear tyre more aggressively, which rapidly degraded it. He added:
Then it was a case of survival until the last laps, with riders overtaking me like I wasn’t there.
Highlighting the harsh conditions at Silverstone, which is notorious for causing rapid tyre wear, Bagnaia warned:
This circuit is one of the worst for tyre consumption [anyway] and if we are not solving the problem of turning, it will be difficult also with the medium [compound] in the grand prix,
signaling concerns for race day.
Confusion Over Front Tyre Performance Adds to Bagnaia’s Troubles
Bagnaia’s analysis of the problem revealed a startling confusion regarding front tyre response. For the first time this season, he admitted uncertainty about which front tyre compound he was using, describing his sensation on the bike as unchanged regardless of whether it was soft or hard. He stated:
Those are two completely different things, and for me, it’s the same, riding the bike. Right now, this is the situation.
This uncertainty underscores the larger issue of unpredictable front-end feedback, a crucial factor for Bagnaia’s riding style and confidence.
Marc Marquez Faces His Most Challenging Silverstone Saturday
Marc Marquez, often a dominant force in MotoGP, also endured his toughest Silverstone Saturday this season. Failing to reach the front row in qualifying for the first time and trailing Bagnaia, Marquez further lost his unbeaten streak in Sprint races when his brother Alex Marquez finished ahead. Bagnaia attributed these shared struggles to the GP25’s handling limitations exposed by the Silverstone layout.
Reflecting on Marc’s performance, Bagnaia said:
“Marc is not performing like normal, that is super good and always to [overcome] the problems. And this track is also making his life difficult.”
He compared Alex Marquez’s current pace to his own last year, observing:
“So right now, when you’re looking at Alex Marquez’s data, he is doing what I was doing last year. And with the same confidence.”
Yet Bagnaia emphasized that while Marc claims the GP25 is essentially similar to the previous GP24 that Alex rides, the actual feeling between the bikes differs:
I think they are theoretically similar, but the feeling is quite different,
he explained.
Bagnaia and Marquez Share Similar Feelings on Bike Handling
After facing criticism for his difficulties, Bagnaia highlighted a rare moment of shared experience with Marc Marquez regarding the bike’s problems:
For the first time this season, Marc had the same feeling as me.
Despite the common ground on the handling issues, their approaches to resolving the challenges diverged. Marquez expressed that the main obstacle was himself adapting to the situation rather than the bike, saying:
When you try three, four different set-ups and the problems are still there, it means you are the problem, the bike is not the problem. So, for tomorrow I need to work on my riding style.
Conversely, Bagnaia pointed to a collective responsibility for the setbacks, asserting:
We are working hard, and all the team, all the engineers are on it. It’s a failure of everybody if we are not succeeding, so we are trying to solve every problem,
and added that both he and the team are fully committed to finding solutions.
He also noted Marc’s better endurance in following Alex Marquez for more laps before dropping off pace, saying:
But he was more or less feeling the same. So being in the same direction will help absolutely to understand what to do.
Small Adjustments Could Help, Yet Riding Style Suffers Greatly
Bagnaia acknowledged that while the technical differences between the GP25 and 2023’s GP24 might appear minor, subtle details are still causing him significant discomfort. The lack of front-end feel is unprecedented for him, impacting his riding method and tyre conservation. He described this as:
It’s the first time that I cannot feel the front. So this is a huge problem for my riding style, which I’m trying to adapt to the bike. But I’m destroying the tyres, I’m not happy riding, so it’s not easy.
The weather added complexity, as track temperatures were nine degrees cooler than last year. For context, Alex Marquez’s winning sprint time this year was nearly four seconds slower than Enea Bastianini’s GP24 victory in 2023, emphasizing the broader impact of conditions and equipment.
Looking Ahead: Efforts to Resolve Ducati’s GP25 Handling Issues
As the MotoGP season progresses, Ducati’s engineers and riders face mounting pressure to refine the GP25’s performance, particularly its front-end handling. Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez sharing similar difficulties at Silverstone may provide valuable data to the team’s development efforts. Success in overcoming these challenges is crucial not only for Bagnaia’s title defense but also for Ducati’s competitiveness across the season.
With the team dedicating maximum effort, the next races will reveal whether incremental changes can restore the balance and tyre management required to compete at the highest level on the GP25.
