Unseen: Ducati tells Francesco Bagnaia: “Put a smile on that face!”

Ducati team-mates Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia crossed the line just 2.666s apart in Sunday’s Dutch MotoGP Grand Prix, but their post-race moods couldn’t have been more different.

While Marquez was jubilant after sealing his third consecutive Sprint/Grand Prix double - and first victory at the Dutch TT since 2018 - Bagnaia was downbeat after slipping from first to third.

The latest MotoGP Unseen video captures their raw emotions in parc fermé, with Marquez visibly pumped as he rejoined his crew.

“I was managing, and when I felt comfortable, I pulled half-a-second ahead. I went full throttle… Assen, man! We’ve won in Assen!” beamed Marquez. “My arm [injured on Friday] is stiff but just from the inflammation.”

“Put a smile on that face!"

Bagnaia came over to shake Marquez’s hand and offer congratulations before returning to his crew, where Ducati Corse general manager Gigi Dall’Igna did his best to lift the double champion’s spirits.

“You should be happy, f**k! You had a great race,” Dall’Igna insisted. “Put a smile on that face! I want to see a smile on that face! You did a great race, you got the fastest lap.”

Bagnaia, however, wasn’t convinced: “For me, a great race means battling, not being stuck there.”

Dall’Igna remained firm: “Well, I saw it, you had a great race.”

As Bagnaia began debriefing with his crew, he asked what had happened to Alex Marquez before describing his ongoing struggles with the front end of the GP25.

“At the beginning, I was doing great. Then… in the third sector, I was struggling like crazy, and everyone overtook me at the last corner. I don’t know what happened there.”

Crew chief Cristian Gabarrini tried to reassure him: “You weren’t losing anything with Marc, were you?”

“No, because he was going faster at Turn 10, but I was faster at Turn 12. [So] we were pretty much at the same level,” replied Bagnaia.

Later, Bagnaia discussed the race with fellow VR46 Academy rider Marco Bezzecchi, who split the Ducatis by finishing second for Aprilia.

“Marquez was braking super strong. But then at Turn 1 and the last corner, [I] struggle a lot when [I'm] behind someone,” Bagnaia noted.

Bezzecchi replied: “I overtook you because I managed to take the lunge and I went for it.”

“F**k, I was actually braking hard there,” said Bagnaia. “Marc was strong in Sector 1. In Sector 2, I was very strong. And in Sector 3 I was pretty much at the same level as Marc.”

As Bagnaia returned to a warm round of applause in the Ducati pit box, one of his mechanics asked why he didn’t seem in the mood to celebrate.

Shortly after, a beaming Marquez skips down pit lane clutching his winner’s trophy, ready to join the party, where Dall’Igna kisses both of the Desmosedicis.