Francesco Bagnaia has said the Ducati GP26 doesn’t feel any different from last year’s bike, raising familiar concerns about the bike’s development.
The Italian rider had ongoing complaints throughout 2025, mainly focused on a lack of feedback from the GP25, especially when braking and entering corners. It was a clear departure from how he felt on the GP24, which had brought him 11 wins in 2024.
Fast forward to 2026 and Bagnaia is calling for Ducati to revisit what made the earlier model so successful, saying this season’s machine feels no different to last year’s problematic one. He spent much of that season asking Ducati to fix those issues, but little seemed to change.
He failed to finish six of the final seven races and dropped down to fifth in the championship standings. This year had started on a more positive note – Bagnaia even looked quicker than Marc Marquez during pre-season testing, though Marquez wasn’t fully fit at that time.
Pecco Bagnaia adopts braking overhaul as Ducati GP26 mirrors past struggles
Bagnaia hasn’t managed a top-eight finish through the first three rounds of the 2026 season, and those issues haven’t gone away. He explained to Sky Italia how the problems with the new bike are a continuation of what he experienced with its predecessor.
“I know my potential very well, I know exactly where I can be,” he said. “Whenever I’ve had the chance, I’ve always been at the front, and the results speak for themselves.
“I’ve been struggling for two years: The DNA of the GP25 and GP26, which is the same, doesn’t allow me to express myself fully. I always ride very defensively and can’t fully trust the bike, and that doesn’t allow me to be fast.
“Plus my strong point, which has always been braking and corner entry, I can’t exploit with this bike anymore. I’ve completely changed my braking system and it’s something that limits me a lot.
“I just hope we can continue in the direction we’ve been in up until 2024 with a bike designed for that. Right now there are other riders complaining about some things as well.”
Bagnaia completely adrift on Ducati’s GP26
Bagnaia’s season hasn’t been without its bright spots. He nearly took a Sprint win at COTA, only for Jorge Martin to snatch it away on the final lap after Bagnaia had led most of the race.
Still, it’s been a tough campaign overall. The two-time champion is struggling to understand why he keeps losing pace during races on the GP26 and has yet to break into the top five this year.
He’s even acknowledged that he could have done more to adapt to last year’s bike, which may be costing him now in 2026 since this year’s machine shares so much of its DNA.
He’ll keep pushing for improvements with Ducati, but with his Aprilia switch already set for 2027, Bagnaia might just be counting down the days until this season wraps up.
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