DANI PEDROSA URGES PECCO BAGNAIA TO STOP FIXATING ON RESULTS AS DUCATI STRUGGLES

Dani Pedrosa has urged Pecco Bagnaia to take a different approach as the Ducati rider’s season continues to unravel. The former double MotoGP world champion, now working as a KTM test rider and a DAZN pundit, believes Bagnaia’s current mindset is worsening the situation—arguing that he needs to stop fixating on results and focus instead on rebuilding his feel for the bike.

Bagnaia’s struggles have been especially stark since the championship resumed after the summer break. Crash.net reports that in the last three grands prix he has crashed out of all three races, while also extending a run of appearances in Q1 to four. The contrast with his teammate Marc Marquez has been sharp: Marquez has won five times in the last seven races and leads the championship.

The underlying technical issue has been described as a lack of rear grip, a problem Bagnaia has battled with throughout the year. Before the summer break, he was still able to fight for podiums, but Crash.net notes that since Silverstone the situation has deteriorated and Ducati has not found a clear answer.

Alongside the performance drop, tensions between Bagnaia and Ducati appear to be resurfacing. Crash.net points to comments Bagnaia made on DAZN cameras at Misano, where he said his team “won’t let me” try a standard set-up on the GP26. That remark has added to the sense that the relationship and working process are under strain.

Pedrosa’s message, delivered on DAZN, was direct. He acknowledged that in a world championship results are what matter, but insisted Bagnaia needs to change what he is prioritising mentally. “I know what I'm about to say will sound strange, because we're in the world championship and results are what matter most, but I think Bagnaia needs to stop thinking about results,” Pedrosa said.

From there, Pedrosa linked the pressure to a loss of confidence and comfort on the bike. “He needs to focus on riding, on gradually regaining his riding form, so to speak.” He added that riding returns through feeling: “Riding comes back with feeling, that's clear. When you lack confidence, you can't ride comfortably.”

Pedrosa also explained how the constant focus on outcomes can distort decision-making and perception of every session. “But when you're always thinking about the result, about not making Q2, not getting a front row start, or not being on the podium... you're going to judge everything else more negatively.”

In Pedrosa’s view, Bagnaia may need a period where he deliberately shifts attention away from immediate targets. “I think it's a good time for him to forget, in a way, about the result.” He then pointed to the difficulty of doing that inside an official Ducati environment where Marquez is delivering wins. “Being in the official Ducati team, with [Marc] Marquez winning alongside him, it's almost impossible to do,” Pedrosa said, before adding: “but let's say it would be almost the only way to start regaining his feeling.”

New reporting adds further context to Bagnaia’s confidence problem. MotoGP News notes that with 14 rounds completed, Bagnaia has a 50% record of finishing in Grand Prix races, and that four of his Sunday results have been P3s. It also says he found form during the early part of the European stretch but fell away again after Assen. The same source frames Pedrosa’s comments as “strange” advice aimed at helping Bagnaia regain confidence on the GP26, with Ducati “doing everything in their power” to help him out of his rut, according to MotoGP pundit Neil Hodgson.