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| Francesco Bagnaia Struggles Again at Mugello: Old Problems Resurface in MotoGP Sprint. |
After giving fans hope with a solid showing at Aragon, Francesco Bagnaia was quickly brought back to reality in front of his home crowd at the Italian MotoGP Sprint. The same front-end issues that have haunted him all season came back just when he needed momentum the most.
At Aragon, Bagnaia showed real improvement thanks to the use of larger 355mm front brake discs. Unfortunately, at Mugello, that wasn’t an option. The track requires less braking stress, making those bigger discs less effective. Still, Bagnaia remained hopeful that they’d made progress in other areas—especially on the front end of his GP25.
Qualifying looked promising. He locked in a front-row start, sandwiched between Ducati teammate Marc Marquez and current championship runner-up Alex Marquez.
Things got even better at the start of the Sprint. Bagnaia nailed the holeshot, taking full advantage of a launch control glitch that left Marc Marquez struggling back in seventh. For a moment, it looked like Bagnaia was on his way to a sixth straight Mugello win.
But that momentum didn’t last long.
As soon as the tire began to lose optimal grip, the familiar front-end issues kicked in. Both Marquez brothers passed him on lap 2 of 11, and from there, Bagnaia had his hands full just trying to hold off Maverick Vinales on the KTM.
"Honestly, I’m a little disappointed,” Bagnaia told MotoGP.com. “I really wanted to give something more to the fans, but I just couldn’t. Marc and Alex were faster.”
“I tried to close the gap every lap, but each time I got close, the front would fold everywhere,” he added. “It’s basically the same story again—like a replay of every other Sprint this season where I’ve ended up third.”
What made it worse was that Bagnaia’s pace this year was actually slower than it was in 2024—on the same tires. Had he matched last year’s Sprint performance, he likely would’ve won.
“It’s a shame,” he said. “I was the only one slower than I was last year when I won the Sprint. But it is what it is.”
Now, with almost half the season already gone, Bagnaia admits he’s still searching for answers. Unless Ducati finds a fix soon, his chances of fighting for the title will keep slipping away.
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