Bagnaia ‘relieved’ after positive Friday practice at Italian GP

MotoGP star Francesco Bagnaia revealed he felt “relief” at the end of Friday practice for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

The factory Ducati rider started the day with eighth in FP1 before rising to second for the official practice session at Mugello – just over a tenth behind KTM’s Maverick Vinales.

It has otherwise been a disappointing start to the 2025 campaign for the double world champion, as Bagnaia is third in the championship and 93 points behind leader and new team-mate Marc Marquez.

“This morning the bike was quite nervous,” said Bagnaia, who is contesting his home grand prix this weekend. 

“I was having some moments in a weird way. I was not expecting it, we were trying a different set-up in the wrong way but it helped because it was the opposite way. I wasn’t feeling well [on the bike] but it helped to understand which direction to follow.

“This afternoon too, I started quite well but then the rear tyre finished after three or four laps so it was quite strange. I was losing it in some places in a strange way.

“It was quite strange with the medium rear and when we put the new soft, I was much happier as my standard feeling at Mugello was back so it was a relief for me.”

While it looked like the Italian was displeased with his bike during a late practice run, he clarified that there wasn’t any anger involved.

“At the end of practice [the gesture] was because I finished the fuel,” explained Bagnaia. 

“It’s an Italian gesture when you finish your fuel, but it was a bit of a shame because I was faster.

“I dropped quite close to a tenth in Sector 1 so I would have liked to have finished the lap but I finished the fuel so I had to stop.”