Bagnaia Denies Crisis Amid Yamaha Speculation

Following being thoroughly eclipsed by Marc Marquez So far in 2025, uncertainty continues to loom over Francesco Bagnaia’s prospects with Ducati as he responds to rumors connecting him to Yamaha.

Talking to the media on Friday, Bagnaia addressed the rumours of him joining the factory Yamaha squad to set the record straight.

“That I don’t understand why because when there is a contract, there is a contract signed,” said Bagnaia, who has Ducati contract until 2026. “I told you Thursday in Silverstone that I will never quit what I sign and this is something I never change in my life.

I wish to remain with Ducati, and Ducati has expressed their desire for me to continue until we conclude this agreement as well as the subsequent one. So, I’m puzzled by all these fake stories circulating about me wearing blue leathers! While it's accurate that when a rider like myself isn't going through a crisis but rather facing tough times, others might speculate 'perhaps he’ll move on,' that simply isn't the situation at present.

While "crisis" might be too strong a term for Bagnaia's performance on Friday ahead of the Aragon Grand Prix, it's clear that the two-time MotoGP world champion struggled throughout his time on the track as he explored different approaches to find some comfort.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

We're experimenting with various options," said the 28-year-old. "The circumstances aren't simple since the bike remains unchanged from past competitions, so we're searching for alternative approaches. We opted for longer forks today but experienced no improvement; everything felt just the same.

In response to queries about adapting his riding technique for the Ducati’s challenges, Bagnaia outlined the difficulties he faced in managing brake performance on his motorcycle.

“The bike is not working so I need to try different solutions and the one of braking as much as I can like I was doing before is not working normally with this bike,” he said.

But even here I'm losing my grip when I should be steady, so today I added 30 meters of locks—it's incredible. I need to try something new.

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