Mick Doohan has a theory about why Francesco Bagnaia isn’t as ‘dominant’ as he used to be

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Reasons behind Bagnaia’s downturn, according to Doohan

Mick Doohan still backs Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia as a top-class rider but feels there are two main factors behind his recent decline.

Bagnaia, who had been a consistent title contender, finished fifth in the 2025 standings and is currently ninth after three rounds in 2026, having collected just 25 points – his worst season start since 2022.

The two-time premier class champion hasn’t placed higher than ninth so far this season. He climbed from P13 to P9 in Thailand, crashed out of the Brazilian Grand Prix after starting P11, and managed only a P10 finish in America despite qualifying fourth.

“I don’t know what happened to Bagnaia,” he told MARCA. “But he has incredible talent, I have no doubt about it.

“I don’t know if it was something related to the bike, or if it happened after Marc Marquez joined the team. But you can’t deny how dominant he was in the two world championships he won.”

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Bagnaia’s struggles continue as Marquez enjoys a remarkable start with Ducati

Bagnaia has now gone five Grands Prix without a victory, stretching back to the middle of last year when he won the Japanese and Portuguese Grands Prix from pole position, before scoring his final win in the series in Italy.

But he then lost seven of the final 10 races to Jorge Martin, who overturned a 99-point deficit to win the title by 15 points in Valencia. Since then, Bagnaia has only managed three podiums from his last nine starts in MotoGP.

Meanwhile, Marquez has enjoyed an incredible start to his time at Ducati. In just six races with the team – including pre-season testing – he has already recorded four victories and one third-place finish.

Last year was not without its challenges for him either. He missed multiple rounds due to injury but still managed 10 podium finishes despite being out of action for so long.

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