Francesco Bagnaia “humiliated” by latest MotoGP struggles: “I see no way out”

Francesco Bagnaia says he feels “humiliated” after reaching “one of the lowest points of my sporting career”, saying he sees “no way out” of his current struggles in MotoGP.

The factory Ducati rider endured a wretched weekend in MotorLand Aragon, failing to score a single point after finishing 11th in the sprint and crashing out of Sunday’s race.

Bagnaia had been showing rapid signs of progress before the summer break, even scoring a sprint win at Brno, but his performances have taken a noticeable downturn since the championship resumed at Silverstone earlier this month. 

Following his second non-score in as many weekends, Bagnaia cut a dejected figure in his post-race interview, seemingly losing faith in his ability to turn his campaign around.

"I'm there giving everything I can, always, in every situation, every session. I arrive at the garage trying to be as clear as possible, because in any case we are all looking for a solution that doesn't come,” he explained.

“So when you then have a weekend like this, a weekend like Silverstone, you end up on the ground pushing, but your pushing means lapping a second slower than the fastest, it mortifies you and above all it is humiliating at this moment. 

“It is perhaps one of the lowest moments of my sporting career, because I see no way out at the moment and the situation is the same as in the first race. In fact, in the last two races it has almost worsened, and therefore it is tough.”

It was clear from Friday that Bagnaia was in for a tough weekend, as he struggled to 13th in Practice while all other Ducati riders successfully earned a direct promotion into Q2. The Italian even admitted to stopping on track after the session to calm himself down, as he didn’t want to return to the garage while still being angry at himself.

Qualifying showed signs of progress, but he had no pace to fight for a top-10 result in the sprint.

On Sunday, he was holding on to seventh place before he slid into the gravel on lap six of 23.

“For me, the lack of grip from the rear is too much,” Bagnaia added. “Because the reality is that I have zero grip. Completely zero grip. 

“I put the [engine] map with less power after five laps because the rear was completely finished in five laps. Without pushing, without doing anything. So I was struggling a lot. I lost the rear, and when the rear came back, I lost the front.”

Bagnaia has struggled with persistent rear grip issues all year long, with Aragon’s high-traction asphalt doing little to alleviate the problem.

After struggling at one of the grippiest tracks on the calendar, Bagnaia was left to wonder what would happen at the remaining rounds of the season.

“From Silverstone, something happened because I don't have grip,” he said. “Completely zero. I don't know when we will arrive in other circuits where the level of grip is lower. So I can't imagine it.”

He added: “I gave everything I could to Ducati, in all situations. It's difficult now to accept that the situation can be like this despite the effort I put into it.

“I look at the data, even old data, and the things I see others doing now don't come to me anymore. So I'm in a situation where with today's bike I can't ride in a natural way, and when I try to do something more, I crash."

Bagnaia was already recovering from a difficult 2025 season in which his performances fluctuated heavily from race to race, culminating in six retirements in the last seven grands prix.  

Asked if he had begun doubting himself after his latest struggles in 2026, the two-time MotoGP champion said: "But this is something I was falling into last year, and then fortunately came the test in Misano and the race in Japan. And there I removed every single doubt and I saw that I just need to feel good and I'm still in the game to fight with the top three."

Asked if he could repeat his dominant Japan performance this year, he added: "I don't know, but I hope so."

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