Bagnaia only 18th, with Q1 once again unavoidable

Francesco Bagnaia finished Practice in eighteenth place, 0.885 seconds behind Acosta. The Ducati rider will have to go through Q1 on Saturday. His teammate Marc Márquez is fourth, while Fermín Aldeguer puts his GP25 second: the best-placed Ducatis are therefore not all running the same specification.

The contrast remains clear: several Ducatis are near the front, but Bagnaia is still a long way from the leading group. That classification alone cannot explain the source of his difficulties. It does, however, add an immediate hurdle to his Saturday: getting through Q1 before he can fight for a good grid position.