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Ducati head Davide Tardozzi hopes 'Pecco will have the right attitude' as he looks for 'step ahead' with Francesco Bagnaia at Grand Prix Hungary
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Published 22/08/2025 at 12:43 GMT+1
Francesco Bagnaia has been well off the pace this season and there have been recent signs of frustration with his Ducati Lenovo bike. The Italian team's head, Davide Tardozzi, suggested on Friday that with the "right attitude" Bagnaia would be able to find better luck for the remainder of the season. Currently, Bagnaia's team-mate Marc Marquez is top of the leaderboard.
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Ducati MotoGP head Davide Tardozzi has said Francesco Bagnaia needs "the right attitude" after his struggles this season.
Bagnaia is third in the title race, but at 197 points behind his team-mate and championship leader Marc Marquez, there is no getting away from the fact that he has endured an underwhelming season after being pipped to the title by Jorge Martin last season.
Last weekend in Austria, Bagnaia started well by qualifying in third but had a woeful Sprint, failing to finish after a huge wheelspin cost him any chance of success.
In the full-length race, he was 12 seconds off the pace and finished eighth.
Marquez both won the Sprint and also Sunday’s race with relative ease, and he is seen by many as the favourite to succeed in the first ever race at this weekend’s track.
With the race weekend ahead at Balaton Park, Tardozzi spoke to the press in Hungary and gave his rider his backing after saying the team were looking to improve his bike.
"We had a lot of meetings with the engineers," Tardozzi said.
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"Gigi [Dall’Igna] and the engineers had a lot of meetings during those days to analyse why it happens, because it’s not the place that Pecco deserves for his talent and his capability.
"So, we’ll see. We think we can make a step ahead here in Hungary. This morning he has to ride a few new parts, but we’ll see what he can do."
However, he did note that Bagnaia’s approach was also crucial to finding the right set up for the rest of the season.
He added: "In the end, we have to manage his brain because we have problems on the bike, which means the bike doesn’t suit his riding style at this moment and his confidence.
"But in the end we have to understand why, and we hope Pecco will have the right attitude to let him proceed ahead."
There are three GP25 bikes on the grid, and while Marquez is thriving, other riders, including Bagnaia, are finding it hard to match his pace.
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However, Tardozzi does not see an essential problem with this year’s model.
He continued: "In some way, for those two riders [Bagnaia and Fabio Di Giannantonio], yes [they are having problems, but], we are leading the championship with the 2025.
"So, we think the bike is good but probably doesn’t suit perfectly the riding style of the two Italians. We’ll see because we are confident we will find the way."
Both Saturday’s Sprint and Sunday’s full-length race will be shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Stream every race of the 2025 MotoGP season live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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