Ducati’s 2025 MotoGP factory lineup will see Francesco Bagnaia (Pecco) ride alongside Marc Marquez – a pairing that has been described as a bold move by Ducati. However, Bagnaia is rather skeptical and has predicted that his future relationship with the six-time MotoGP champion could either be “super good” or a “disaster”.
These comments come at a time when Ducati will have an extremely strong rider line-up next year, but Pecco’s comments about his future teammate Marquez could also be seen as a warning to the Italian team to keep their tempers under control amid the heat of an adrenaline rush.
Ducati also became the target of Bagnaia’s comments after he stressed that they had deviated from the strategy of hiring young riders and instead selected an experienced rider like Marquez for the factory seat. Speaking to MotoGP.com, as reported by Crash.net, he said:
“I think (Ducati) decided to change its strategy. The strategy was to believe in young riders and give them the opportunity to move up to the factory team. And they took Marc, who has (the most) titles.
“Marc will definitely be super competitive because he is already super fast and next year he will have the best material. More or less at the moment. But being in red definitely motivates you more to be at the top.
“I think it could be super good or a disaster! So we’ll have to wait and see when we start next year. It could be a disaster if we start shouting or ‘discussions’.”
“But I think we’re both very smart and he’ll adapt perfectly.”
Bagnaia described the departures of the Ducati riders as a significant “loss”, specifically mentioning current teammate Enea Bastianini who will move to Tech3 KTM, Marco Bezzecchi who will move from VR46 to Aprilia and Jorge Martin’s departure from Pramac to Aprilia. He elaborated, saying:
“Losing three drivers like them is a huge loss because you give other manufacturers three super-fast drivers. We will have three more contenders but without the ability to see their data.”
Although there have been no recent altercations other than the occasional tow, there have been a number of clashes between Bagnaia and Marquez this season. Most notably, the collision at Portimao during the second lap saw both riders go down. Bagnaia later emerged victorious from a close battle with Marquez at Jerez despite contact during their battle for the win. At Le Mans, Marquez managed to successfully overtake Bagnaia at the last minute to secure second place.
Ahead of this weekend’s Austrian MotoGP, Bagnaia is just three points behind Martin, while Bastianini has moved up to third in the World Championship, overtaking Marc Marquez following his impressive double victory at Silverstone.
