Pecco Bagnaia has acknowledged the need to avoid unnecessary mistakes as he reflects on his third-place finish at the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix.
Coming into the fourth round of the 2025 season, the reigning double world champion was expected to challenge teammate Marc Marquez. However, Marquez completed a dominant clean sweep for the third time this season, while Bagnaia had a more challenging weekend.
After crashing in qualifying, Bagnaia started Sunday’s grand prix from 11th on the grid. Despite recovering to finish third, he was later promoted to second after Maverick Vinales received a post-race penalty. The result marked Ducati’s first factory team 1-2 finish of the season.
Bagnaia cited a recurring issue with bike balance during the Saturday sprint, which he believes stems from the smaller fuel tank. He admitted the contrast between his sprint and grand prix performance was puzzling, as he felt much more competitive in the longer race.
Speaking to TNT Sport, Bagnaia said his priority is to eliminate mistakes like the one that cost him in qualifying:
“First of all, I cannot make any more mistakes like I did in qualifying. Starting from the back really limits my chances. Second is to understand what we can do in the sprint. It’s not acceptable to be so far off the pace and lose the opportunity to overtake.”
Reflecting on the grand prix, Bagnaia explained how tyre management played a key role in his final result. He admitted to pushing too hard early in the race while battling Franco Morbidelli, which caused excessive tyre wear and limited his ability to challenge in the closing laps.
“I was pushing hard to make up ground, and to overtake, I had to use the rear tyre a lot. I tried to manage it, but by the final laps, I had nothing left. Last season, I had eight DNFs, so I’ve learned that sometimes it’s better to settle for the position you’re in.”
Bagnaia believes that a better qualifying result could have given him a stronger chance to challenge Marquez for the win:
“If I had started further up the grid, I might have had a better shot. Our pace was similar. With less pressure in the early stages, I could’ve preserved my tyres and had a stronger finish. But that’s racing. Let’s take the positives and focus on improving for the next round.”
