BAGNAIA AND MARC MARQUEZ AGREE ALEX MARQUEZ IS THE FASTEST DUCATI RIDER

Francesco Bagnaia believes Ducati’s internal data is pointing to a different pace leader than the one many would assume, as the factory rider tries to reset his season after the summer break. With MotoGP returning this weekend at Silverstone, Bagnaia sits eighth in the standings after the first 11 rounds, having collected 143 points and taken four podiums. His results have included third places at Barcelona, Mugello, Balaton Park and Brno, but he says he still hasn’t felt fully at ease on the Ducati GP26.

Bagnaia’s assessment comes as he reviews Ducati information from the opening half of the campaign. While Marc Marquez has been the most consistent Ducati performer in 2026—ranking third overall with 190 points despite missing two Grands Prix—Bagnaia claims Ducati’s data suggests Gresini’s Alex Marquez is the fastest rider on the GP26 so far this year. He also describes Alex as the rider who currently has the best “feel” for the bike.

In the same period, only Alex Marquez has scored fewer points than Bagnaia among the four riders using the GP26. Alex is ninth with 87 points, but that total comes after he skipped three Grands Prix due to a crash in Barcelona. Bagnaia also referenced the situation around Alex’s injury, noting that Marc Marquez believes Alex would have been leading the championship if he hadn’t broken his right collarbone and suffered a small fracture of his C7 vertebra in that Barcelona incident.

Bagnaia’s focus now is to close the gap in speed and comfort that he believes Alex has already found. He said, via the Spanish edition of Motorsport.com: “In my opinion, [Ai] Ogura and Marc Marquez are currently the two best in terms of consistency. As for pure performance, [Marco] Bezzecchi is the most competitive, although he’s had quite a bit of bad luck lately, while [Jorge] Martin has been very consistent.” He then narrowed in on Ducati’s internal comparison: “But we’ll see what happens, because I think Alex Marquez is currently the Ducati rider with the best ‘feel’ for the bike. He’s the fastest. Obviously, speed doesn’t always mean winning, but the data shows he’s the one who’s the most comfortable on our bike. I’m trying to reach that level of speed, but it’s difficult.”

Marc Marquez, when asked about Bagnaia’s comments, agreed with the direction of the assessment. “It depends on the track and riding style, but Alex has been riding very well since last year and showed it in the first part of the season; unfortunately, he got injured. If we talk about riding, he’s the best Ducati rider. Diggia is also very fast, but Alex does fantastic things in some corners.”

At Silverstone itself, Bagnaia’s theory was backed by Alex Marquez’s form: the Gresini rider topped FP1, showing strong pace through the corners. Marc Marquez also highlighted Alex’s braking strengths, while Bagnaia said he is having trouble under braking and when getting on the gas, describing it as “the limit of the whole season” and adding that Ducati will try to understand what Alex does in braking sections and corners.

Bagnaia stressed that he is not thinking about a title challenge yet, explaining that the immediate priority is improving race-by-race results. “I can’t think about winning the title just yet,” he said. “I have to focus on one race at a time and try to improve my position. We can certainly aim to finish in the top five of the championship – that has to be the goal right now – although I need to improve to fight for the podium every weekend.”

Part of Bagnaia’s summer reset is linked to health and setup changes. He underwent surgery at the start of the break after a “small issue” with the GP26 contributed to arm pump, which affected him more at certain races than others. The operation was intended to prevent further problems as the season continues.

With Silverstone marking the return from the summer break, Bagnaia will be looking to see whether his recovery and the work done during the off period allow him to match the pace he believes Alex Marquez is already extracting from Ducati’s GP26—while still keeping the consistency needed to move back toward podium contention.