Pecco Bagnaia 18th in Austrian MotoGP Practice: “The real potential is this”

Two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia continues to struggle at the Austrian MotoGP, where he has admitted his 18th-fastest time in Practice represents his “real potential”.

Bagnaia arrived in Austria off the back of one of the worst weekends of his season so far in Misano, where he has been twice a winner in MotoGP but where this year he was unable to qualify better than the fifth row.

The Italian is a three-time MotoGP winner at the Red Bull Ring, but in Practice on Friday was only 18th and almost a second slower around the 10-corner Red Bull Ring than Pedro Acosta at the top of the times.

Bagnaia has seemed resigned to his current reality for a while, and he had the same tone on Friday in Misano, where he identified a lack of rear grip – not a novelty in his 2026 season – as a cause of time loss throughout the lap.

“Rear grip that affects the braking entry and acceleration, so more or less everything,” Francesco Bagnaia said of his problems at the Red Bull Ring.

“But it's the thing that we are focused on the most and try to improve. 

“It's clear that I know that we can do much better, but right now the real potential is this one.”

Bagnaia was asked if he felt better in Austria than in Misano a week ago.

“Not really,” he responded. “My feeling is the same, the issues are the same. 

“So like I said, the potential is this one, and head down and try to improve a bit.”

Some of the other Ducati riders had spoken about the difficulty of using the heat-dissipating rear tyre that Michelin brings to Austria. Its construction is harder than the standard tyre, so it naturally slides more, an effect which is amplified by the low-grip surface at the Red Bull Ring.

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi had also made mention of the lack of centre-tyre traction in Austria that makes it harder to not only accelerate but also to stop the bike.

But Bagnaia said the feeling he has is not changed by the tyre he is using, whether its a different specification or just a different compound.

“I don't really feel a difference between a normal tyre and these tyres, soft or medium – for me it's more or less the same,” the Ducati Lenovo Team rider said.

“So I don’t know, the riders that are in the front, what they are feeling. 

“But I'm sure, what I feel is that my real potential right now is this one and we just need to keep working and try to improve a little bit.”