A Disastrous Weekend for Pecco Bagnaia in Australia
The 2025 MotoGP season has been a challenging one for Pecco Bagnaia, and his struggles reached a new low during the Australian Grand Prix sprint. Despite showing promise in practice, Bagnaia's race on Saturday was a true test of his resilience.
Starting the weekend with a solid practice session, Bagnaia's momentum took a turn for the worse on Saturday morning. He qualified in 11th position and received a grid penalty for impeding, setting the stage for a difficult race.
As the race progressed, Bagnaia's performance only worsened. He dropped positions rapidly, finding himself at the back of the field by lap five. Ultimately, he crossed the finish line in 19th place, a staggering 32.408 seconds behind the sprint winner, Marco Bezzecchi.
But here's where it gets controversial: Bagnaia's average pace per lap was a staggering 2.504 seconds slower than Bezzecchi's, who had to navigate an overtake and recover from an error during the race. This performance gap is a cause for concern, especially considering that both riders were on similar machinery.
And this is the part most people miss: for the first time in the sprint era, no Ducati rider made it to the podium. VR46's Fabio Di Giannantonio, riding the same bike as Bagnaia, was on average 2.184 seconds quicker per lap. This highlights a significant performance discrepancy within the Ducati camp.
Bagnaia himself branded his sprint performance as "humiliating." He struggled with stability issues throughout the race, a stark contrast to his victory at the Japanese Grand Prix a few weeks prior, where he felt the bike was "theoretically" the same.
"Today's sprint was quite an embarrassment. I couldn't fight, I couldn't do anything. I was lapping two seconds slower than my own practice pace," he said. This statement reflects the frustration and disappointment Bagnaia is feeling.
Speaking further, Bagnaia expressed his difficulty in accepting the situation. "We're not understanding the situation well. Not just me, but the team too. We were competitive enough to finish in the top five, but then things started to feel strange."
Bagnaia and his team are currently trying to unravel the mystery behind the bike's performance issues. "It's not a matter of setup or electronics. We're looking for what's causing the bike to behave this way, but it's beyond our capabilities. We're nitpicking, and it's not easy to find the solution."
In a media debrief, Bagnaia also expressed his belief that his teammate, Marc Marquez, would have made it to the podium had he been racing. "I was just a passenger in the sprint. If Marc was here, he'd probably be on the podium. I can't get the bike to stop moving."
So, what do you think? Is Bagnaia's performance a temporary setback, or is there a deeper issue at play? Share your thoughts in the comments!
