Saturday at the Qatar Grand Prix was a bad day for Pecco Bagnaia's title challenge in 2025, as he gave up double-digit points versus Marc Marquez - and looks set for another points hit on Sunday.
Bagnaia crashed on his second run in qualifying after a disappointing first run, ending up 11th on the grid, then struggled to make meaningful progress in the sprint, finishing as last of the six Ducatis in eighth.
It was an alarming performance given Bagnaia had started the season lacking his usual confidence with the Ducati Desmosedici - but he insisted Saturday was no indication of him taking a step back in terms of pace, but rather a badly-timed mistake and the continuance of a particular performance trend.
The 'f***-up'
Bagnaia had to approach his second run in Q2 with a lot of urgency, after being uncompetitive on his initial attempt.
He looked on course to rectify this quickly, but went down at Turn 4 after a strong opening sector - and could only watch as he was pushed further down the starting grid by rivals' improvements.
"I messed up- no, 'I ****ed up' is better - this morning in qualifying," he admitted.
"Honestly, I was super fast this morning [in pre-qualifying practice] with used tyres, the feeling was fantastic and I was able to do what I wanted. Then in qualifying unluckily in the first attempt I wasn't happy with what I was feeling - and in the second attempt everything was fine, everything was fine and I was able to push.
"In the first sector I was already down on [quicker than] my best from yesterday, so I just tried to push like I want normally, but I overpushed in Turn 4 so I arrived a bit too fast and I lost the front - after losing a bit the rear.
"So, my mistake, completely my mistake. Because in this situation where you are not able to do a good attempt already in the first attempt, you need just to be more calm, just to be more in front.
"But I was trying. And it was the moment to try - and nothing, I just crashed."
Disaster for @PeccoBagnaia 😱 He crashes out at T4 at a crucial time 💥#QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/81J1GPB37Z
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 12, 2025
The 'deja vu' issue
Bagnaia still harbours high hopes for Sunday's race, "confident" of a podium challenge despite his grid slot.
But he says he knew this wouldn't be possible in the sprint - because he's still lacking performance with the bike in its sprint configuration, meaning with the mandated lesser-capacity fuel tank.
"It's already three seasons that we're doing sprints and always I'm struggling to overtake riders. When I'm behind [others], I cannot brake like I want.
"The reason is still difficult to understand from my point of view because the difference is only the fuel tank - but I'm the only one to feel this kind of thing. So... I need to improve. I need to learn what to do in the sprint situation, because it's not possible that if I'm starting behind I cannot overtake riders.
"The problem is, from my point of view - my performance comes on braking. When I brake hard and I can enter fast in the corner, I am fast. And with the fuel tank of the sprint race, the balance of the bike is a bit different and I cannot brake like I want, because I start to have much more front locking, and this is my biggest problem."
Bagnaia felt that, despite this, with a normal grid position "maybe today I was able" to secure a win.
"I learned last year that it's more important to finish than crash," he said.
"I know that two points [for eighth] are very low considering that [I could've won] - but it's better than zero. We have to be realistic and try always to finish."
