Bagnaia stays thirteenth while the other Ducati wins

Francesco Bagnaia endured a very difficult Saturday at Misano. Fourteenth on the grid after going out in Q1, he gained only one place in the Sprint and finished 13th, outside the points, while Marc Márquez won on the other factory Ducati. Bagnaia remains eighth in the championship on 143 points, now 106 behind Márquez.

His problems go beyond a simple lack of front-end confidence. Bagnaia has described strange engine braking over the last few rounds, rear grip that is difficult to understand and a GP26 that has become very nervous, complicating both braking and throttle application. Starting 14th again on Sunday leaves him in traffic: moving forward matters, but the bigger issue is finding a bike he can exploit without riding defensively.