Ducati CEO on Francesco Bagnaia’s woe: “Obviously the issue isn't simple”

Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali praised Marc Marquez’s dominant wet Sprint victory at the German MotoGP but admitted ongoing concern over Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia’s lack of confidence with the latest GP25 package.

Speaking after Saturday’s race, where Marquez took victory by over six seconds, Domenicali described the performance as “extraordinary” while acknowledging the complexity behind Francesco Bagnaia’s struggles.

Bagnaia finished a distant 11th in the Sprint, 20 seconds behind his team-mate, despite having won the previous wet race he entered, in Thailand last year.

“Marc rode an extraordinary race, but Pecco's part always worries us a little. If I had the solution to his problems, I would have already suggested it,” Domenicali told Sky Italia.

Although the Italian rebounded to claim a fortunate third place in Sunday’s dry grand prix - benefiting from crashes for Fabio di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi - he is yet to feel comfortable on the GP25.

“Obviously, the issue isn't simple,” continued Domenicali, referring to the quest for solutions to Bagnaia’s corner entry problems.

“Here, the guys brought a new frame to give different sensations, to change some elements. When it comes to feeling, it's often not that clear, and you can't measure everything.

“So you have to try and make changes until you find a way, and then start from there - and that's what the guys are doing.”

Pecco Bagnaia tried a different Ducati chassis

The different chassis was liked by Bagnaia during last year’s Misano test but, while he felt it could be an advantage at tracks with higher grip, the Italian switched back to the standard design for the remainder of the Sachsenring weekend.

In general, Domenicali felt constant changes to try and revive Bagnaia’s feeling, while necessary under the circumstances, also meant he had a less familiar bike for the wet.

“Pecco is a guy who won the last race he did in the wet. So something isn't working, but in the wet [things] are a little different, and I don't think they're so chassis-related,” Domenicali said of the Sprint performance.

“Maybe what we can say is that when you have a base set-up you're confident with, and you change very little from one race to the next and from one condition to the next, it gives you more confidence in all conditions.

“Doing these constant [changes] to try to find different solutions doesn't help you gain confidence. But if you don't have it, it's a bit of a dog chasing its tail.”

But Domenicali was much happier with Bagnaia’s Sunday performance, saying after the dry grand prix.

"Pecco also did a great job after a tough race yesterday in the wet – he regained confidence, and I was happy to see him back on the podium.”

Bagnaia took the chequered flag 7 seconds behind Marc Marquez and 0.7s behind the injured Alex Marquez (Gresini), meaning he lost further ground to both brothers in the title chase.

“It seems like, no matter where I start, I always finish in third – and clearly, we need to change something,” Bagnaia said.

“We’re making small steps forward, and while it’s not ideal, we recovered positions and scored important points, which is what matters most.”

Whatever happens in this weekend’s Czech Republic MotoGP, Bagnaia will go into the summer break third in the world championship.