Title rival promises to make life harder for Marquez in 2026 MotoGP season

15:30, 08 Feb

byAndrew McLarney

Francesco Bagnaia has vowed to make the coming season 'difficult' for his teammate Marc Marquez after an inconsistent 2025 saw him finish fifth in the overall rider rankings.

Bagnaia, who himself is a two-time MotoGP world champion, struggled to adjust to the arrival of his new teammate last year and collected only two race wins throughout the year compared to Marquez's eleven.

The Italian's struggles were evident in the latter half of the season as he crashed in six of the last seven races while Marquez cruised to his seventh premier-class title.

I will try everything to make it more difficult for Marc this season,

- Francesco Bagnaia

There has been much speculation surrounding Bagnaia's future at Ducati, where he has been a mainstay for several years now and collected both of his world championships with the team.

Rumours suggest that trailblazing KTM youngster Pedro Acosta could be in-line for a factory Ducati seat with a deal all-but agreed behind the scenes.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Meanwhile Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi has been clear that the team is looking to retain the services of Marc Marquez for the 2027 season and beyond.

If both Acosta and Marquez were to sign for the 2027 season, it would push Bagnaia out of a seat - a move which would have been unthinkable in the last few years before 2025.

Yamaha are the favourites to sign him alongside former title rival Jorge Martin as they look to replace the likely outgoing Fabio Quartararo, who looks set to join Honda.

There are other options too, including Aprilia who recently extended the contract of Marco Bezzecchi, though have not confirmed his teammate's future.

Either way, Bagnaia will be riding with a point to prove in 2026 and reiterated his intentions at the season launch event in Kuala Lumpur.

"I will try everything to make it more difficult for Marc this season," Pecco said with a smile, "but in any case, yes, we did a very good test and it was important to feel the performance so I'm super happy, looking forward to arriving in Buriram and start racing again."

While the comment was clearly not stated with any malice towards his rival, Bagnaia certainly recognises that his performances this season will need to improve compared to last year, and he will be hoping to recapture the form of prior years which made him the most-winning rider in Ducati's history.