Bagnaia Criticized After Hungary MotoGP 2025 Struggles

Background of the 2025 Hungarian MotoGP

MotoGP returned to Hungary after 33 years, making its debut at the newly built Balaton Park Circuit—an upgrade from the Hungaroring of the 1990s (AS.com).

Marc Márquez reinforced his dominance by breaking the lap record twice with a time of 1:36.518 during qualifying, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Reuters). Bagnaia, however, failed to advance to Q2 and ended the sprint in 13th place, marking his worst performance of the season (MotoGPNews.com).

On Sunday, Márquez completed a dominant weekend by winning both the sprint and the main race—his seventh consecutive double—extending his championship lead to 175 points (El País).

Bagnaia’s Struggles

Bagnaia openly admitted that this season has been one of the hardest periods of his career, as Ducati’s new machine has proven difficult to handle under racing conditions (AS.com).

Despite being the defending world champion, Bagnaia has failed to keep pace with Márquez’s consistency, sparking debates about his future within Ducati if the poor results continue (MotoGPNews.com).

Rossi’s Inner Circle Criticizes Bagnaia

Uccio Salucci, Valentino Rossi’s lifelong friend and a key figure within the VR46 Academy, openly criticized Bagnaia’s recent performances. He stated that Bagnaia “seems to have lost a little bit of motivation” and suggested that the Ducati rider’s aggressive racing style may no longer be effective against Márquez (Crash.net).

This remark has intensified the spotlight on Bagnaia, particularly given his connection to Rossi’s academy, which was designed to nurture Italy’s next MotoGP champions.

Márquez vs Bagnaia in Hungary

The Hungarian GP featured a heated duel between Márquez and Bagnaia. Several overtakes were aggressively exchanged, but ultimately Márquez prevailed, pulling away to secure another emphatic victory.

According to the official race results, Márquez crossed the finish line with a comfortable margin, while Bagnaia could only manage to fight within the midfield pack (Wikipedia).

What Lies Ahead

With Márquez firmly in control of the championship, Bagnaia faces increasing pressure to find form quickly. Any further decline in results could jeopardize his role as Ducati’s lead rider, especially with other young talents emerging on the MotoGP grid.

For now, the criticism from Rossi’s camp serves as both a warning and a reminder that the MotoGP paddock is watching closely to see if Bagnaia can bounce back.