On the face of it, things look pretty rosy for Ducati in 2025. With its darling, two-time world champion Pecco Bagnaia remaining front and centre of the team's line-up - potentially with a third title under his belt if this year goes to plan - alongside six-time premier class champion Marc Marquez, its top two riders are sitting very pretty indeed.
But look beyond that, and all is not as perfect as it seems. Losing championship challenger Jorge Martin and Valentino Rossi protege Marco Bezzecchi to Aprilia, as well as current top-form rider Enea Bastianini to KTM, takes a lot of Ducati’s current star quality away.
It is also losing Pramac from its stable, with Ducati's long-time satellite outfit switching to Yamaha machinery.
While consistent performer Alex Marquez will remain at Gresini, likely set to be joined by Moto2 rider Fermin Aldeguer, and Franco Morbidelli looks set for a move to VR46, the factory has one real saviour among its 'secondary' ranks - and it might be a surprising one: Fabio Di Giannantonio, newly rewarded with a factory deal.
Being parachuted into VR46 for the 2024 season after losing his Gresini seat to Marquez - though he was likely to lose it even before the Spaniard pushed him out the door - pitted Di Giannantonio directly against Bezzecchi, an intra-team fight that might've been expected to go one way only.
On previous comparisons, Di Giannantonio fell short. He scored just 24 points in his rookie season in 2022, finishing 20th in the standings and last of the Ducatis, while Bezzecchi was 14th with 111 points as he too made his debut.
Things weren’t looking much better for much of the following year either. After the Japanese Grand Prix, Di Giannantonio had just 53 points, while a charging Bezzecchi was third overall on 265. Di Giannantonio's premier-class career appeared to be circling the drain.
But a late-season surge ensued, and he scored a career-best fourth next time out at the Indonesian GP, swiftly followed up by a podium the following week in Australia. Things got even better: In Qatar, Di Giannantonio took his first MotoGP victory, and he subsequnetly scored a podium at the Valencia season finale - only to have that taken away due to a tyre pressure penalty.
All the while, he was facing a future without a seat. As late as the post-race press conference at Valencia, Di Giannantonio could not confirm his plans, which were finally sealed the following day - less than 24 hours ahead of the pre-season test where he would first appear for VR46.
At that point, it seemed clear what the hierarchy would be for 2024: Bezzecchi as the star in the making, leading the way, with Di Giannantonio in a clear number two role.
Now, at the halfway mark of the 2024 season, things have turned out very differently. Di Giannantonio currently sits on 104 points in eighth, the fifth best Ducati behind Martin, Bagnaia, Bastianini and Marquez, while Bezzecchi is 11th on 61 points. Of the four GP23 riders, Di Giannantonio is the second-best behind only the mercurial Marquez.
It is important to note that none of this is to disparage Bezzecchi, who has struggled to adapt to the GP23’s style of braking and turning, but more to point to Di Giannantonio's sustained upturn in form. He has qualified outside the top 10 just twice so far this year, and finished inside that at every grand prix bar one: the German GP at the Sachsenring, where he retired due to a technical issue.
Sunday’s British Grand Prix, the final race before his factory arrangement was announced, was a case in point of just how far he has come.
Lining up 10th, Di Giannantonio had made up three places before hitting the Wellington Straight on the opening lap and went on to finish fifth after a last-lap move on Aleix Espargaro - though Di Giannantonio said after the race that without a delay tussling with Alex Marquez, he felt he could have had the pace to chase after fourth-place finisher Marc Marquez - if not Bagnaia's third place.
Given the calendar now turns to tracks where Di Giannantonio performed so strongly last year, there could be even bigger things in store in the second half of 2024, and a continued upturn in form could be critical for Ducati in 2025.
While Alex Marquez is a reliable presence with occasional podium potential, Morbidelli’s performances are less predictable, and Aldeguer’s readiness for MotoGP is still up for debate.
With the rider market having shifted significantly over the past few months, as Marquez’s promotion set several cogs in motion, Di Giannantonio’s retention was a savvy move - but not one that was initially guaranteed. Several teams were keen to sign the Italian, with Fabio Quartararo keen for Yamaha to snap him up for Pramac’s roster, while Honda previously expressed interest for 2024 as Marquez’s replacement.
It is a situation even Di Giannantonio himself did not envisage when he was struggling to find a home late last year. Reflecting on that change in fortunes, he said: “I am super proud of my journey and honoured that a lot of manufacturers had interest in me. It means that I am doing a good job and learning and becoming faster and faster.
“I just tried last year to focus on myself and it’s working, because at the end, we did an incredible growth through the year and also this year it was also important to be there and push with the bike that I have now.”
Asked whether he could have imagined being in such a situation last year, he added: “Sometimes life is incredible and I think you are the only one who can change your future and we changed it, so I’m super proud, honestly.”
With that in mind, it feels as if Di Giannantonio will provide a steadying presence, with his healthy form allowing him to play de-facto number three supporting the star duo of Bagnaia and Marquez.
Despite those hints of interest from elsewhere, it had started to feel like it was only a matter of time before Ducati got its next puzzle piece in place. Given Di Giannantonio's trajectory, that could be a crucial one indeed.
