GUINTOLI FLAGS BAGNAIA’S ARAGON FP1 DATA AS A CONFIDENCE PROBLEM AFTER FRUSTRATING FRIDAY

Francesco Bagnaia’s Aragon weekend carried worrying signs from the outset, with the two-time champion finishing P20 in FP1 and nearly two seconds off the pace. He also revealed he deliberately stopped on track to “calm down” after becoming “frustrated with himself” over failing to reach Q2. Motorsport.com reported Bagnaia ended Friday practice as the slowest Ducati, 13th and over a second behind Aprilia pace-setter Marco Bezzecchi.

Further insight into Bagnaia’s struggles came from Neil Hodgson, who said he didn’t like what he saw in the Ducati garage during practice. Hodgson described Bagnaia’s “body language” as “not good,” pointing to how the Italian looked seated in his chair and suggesting he was not getting the sensations he needed from the Desmosedici. “But whatever he needs, whatever sensations, whatever he needs from that Desmosedici, he’s just not getting, is he? He’s not getting the feelings. He’s not comfortable with it,” Hodgson said on TNT Sports 2. He added that the gap to his teammate underlined the scale of the problem: “If you look, he’s 1.2 seconds slower than his teammate right now. That, in racing terms, is an absolute eternity.”

Hodgson also referenced the team’s ongoing search for solutions, noting that Ducati were “throwing things at it” and trying different approaches. “You heard Davide Tardozzi explain that they’re searching . They’re throwing things at it. They’re trying things, and that’s what you do. If your rider’s not happy, you have to make changes, but you can quite easily end up just going out of the working range [and] make it worse.”

The day’s frustration did not ease for Bagnaia in the pre-qualifying session either. He was the only Ducati rider who did not secure an automatic Q2 place, and Hodgson said Bagnaia’s actions after practice were “really rare.” After returning to the pit lane at the end of the day, Bagnaia walked straight out of the Ducati garage with his head down and helmet on, saying nothing to his mechanics. Hodgson said: “You rarely see this… That is really rare that you’ll see a rider walk in and not even acknowledge anyone. You feel, as well, like he’s walking straight to the hire car, don’t you? It’s that sort of body language.”

Sylvain Guintoli echoed the sense of dissatisfaction, adding that the situation had been building for some time. “He’s not happy, is he? It’s not happening… That’s not good,” Guintoli said. He suggested the core issue was that Ducati could not find the feeling Bagnaia was looking for: “The thing is, though, it’s so frustrating for him, as they can’t find a solution for him. And really, there’s been some ups and downs the last year and a half, but it’s been a year and a half of not finding the feeling that he’s looking for.”

On track, Bagnaia’s Friday form reflected that lack of confidence. In timed practice at Alcaniz, he managed only P13, with his best lap clocked at 1:46.487. Bezzecchi, by contrast, topped the session with a new all-time Aragon lap record of 1:45.455. Hodgson also pointed out that Bagnaia never looked like he could threaten the top 10, describing how he struggled to keep the rear tyre planted under braking and prevent the front from folding in the corners.

The wider Ducati picture on Friday underlined the gap. Bagnaia was the only Ducati rider without a Q2 automatic spot, while three other GP26 riders were close to the front: the top three were split by just 0.038s, and even Fermin Aldeguer and Franco Morbidelli secured Q2 places on their GP25 machines with times of 1:45.895 (P5) and 1:46.218 (P9) respectively. With Bagnaia already 1.875 seconds behind FP1 leader Marc Marquez in the opening session, the day’s pattern was clear—Ducati were searching, but Bagnaia’s confidence and comfort were still not there.