Francesco Bagnaia believes that the 2025 version of the Ducati bike may be harder to handle than last year’s model. He thinks this might help explain not only his own disappointing results so far this season, but also why his teammate Marc Marquez crashed out of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Bagnaia and Marquez are both riding the Ducati GP25, but Bagnaia says the front of the bike feels more unstable compared to the older GP24, which is still being used by riders like Alex Marquez. Alex, who actually won at Jerez last year on the GP24, looked very strong again this season.

Even though Ducati didn’t change much from last year’s design, Bagnaia feels that something about the GP25 is different. He says it’s especially difficult to manage during sprint races, where the bike carries less fuel. He also says he struggles to feel confident on the front end and loses time in important corners.

“Last year I was fast in corners 11 and 12. This year I’m losing a lot there,” Bagnaia said after the race in Jerez to MotoGP Media. “Even when I’m right behind another rider, I can’t keep up — the front feels like it’s locking up.”

He finished behind Alex Marquez and Fabio Quartararo in Jerez, and when speaking about the race, he said he felt powerless to overtake.

“When I caught up to Fabio, I couldn’t do anything,” he added to MotoGP.com.

As for Marc’s crash, Bagnaia thinks it might be related to the same problems. He suggested that the GP25 becomes unpredictable when following other bikes closely — something Marc hasn’t had to do much this season, as he's often racing at the front.

However, Marc Marquez wasn’t sure what caused his crash. He said it didn’t feel like a front tyre pressure issue, which sometimes happens in traffic.

“I don’t really understand the crash,” Marquez admitted in interview with The Race.

Earlier this season, Marc proved he can ride in traffic — like when he followed his brother Alex in Thailand without issue. And even after his crash in Jerez, he came back onto the track and overtook several riders. That suggests he can still manage the GP25 better than most.

Another Ducati rider using the GP25, Fabio Di Giannantonio, joked that maybe he should try Bagnaia’s bike. But overall, he disagreed with the idea that the bike itself is the problem. Instead, he believes that increased turbulence from other bikes this year may be making things more difficult.

“All of us – me, Pecco, Marc, even Alex – feel this turbulence now. I don’t think it’s just the GP25,” said Di Giannantonio in MotoGP.com interview.

Even though Bagnaia is unhappy with how the GP25 feels, he doesn’t want to go back to using last year’s GP24. He believes the new bike still has more speed and acceleration, especially on the straights and in braking zones.

Bagnaia said the bike has potential, but he just can’t make the most of it right now.

“If you compare Alex’s laps this year to mine from last year, they look the same. But I can’t do that now,” he explained.

Still, Bagnaia hopes that some setup changes — like adding more weight to the front — will help. He and his team tested new settings during the post-race test on Monday.

“I need to feel better with the front of the bike. Right now, that’s not happening,” he said to Sky Sport MotoGP. “Even in warm-up laps, I feel this problem when I’m behind someone.”