Why braking on lean angle defined Bagnaia’s MotoGP struggles

Francesco Bagnaia spent much of the 2025 MotoGP season trying to rediscover the front-end confidence he had enjoyed on previous Ducati machines, as he struggled to unlock consistent performance from the GP25.

While there were flashes of his trademark hard-braking style - most notably during a perfect weekend at Motegi - progress proved short-lived and was further undermined by persistent shaking on corner exit.

But where and why was Bagnaia losing time compared to earlier seasons?

“Straight-line braking was very similar,” the Italian explained. “But the biggest difference was when I was entering the corner, [before] I had the chance to stop the bike with lean angle.

“And that’s something that I was missing all season, especially following others.”

The corner-entry limitations became particularly damaging in race situations.

Bagnaia highlighted that with straight-line braking comprised in a slipstream behind other riders, the ability to stop the bike during the turn-in phase becomes even more important.

“When you're following others, the slipstream is not helping you to stop the bike. And [then] if you're not able to stop with lean angle, you're f**ked, so this was my problem,” he said during the 2025 season.

“Last year I was able to brake with more lean angle. I was controlling a lot of slide and I was able to force a lot in the last part to reduce the speed.

“All things that this season I usually wasn't able to do.”

Bagnaia, who won two Sprints and two grands prix, faded to fifth in the MotoGP World Championship due to eight non-scores in the final ten races.