Francesco Bagnaia left the Hungarian Grand Prix at Balaton Park with a renewed sense of optimism, despite finishing ninth.
Although the weekend once again highlighted the Italian’s struggles with the GP25, following “a big [setup] change”, the Grand Prix race on Sunday in particular offered a first glimpse at a possible turnaround.
A ninth-place finish might not sound like much, and under normal circumstances, this result would practically be a disaster for the two-time world champion, given he should be fighting for race wins.
However, it represented the first clear step forward in a season that has tested both him and his team.
“After the test with the Panigale [three weeks ago], I knew I would struggle here.”
“This is a circuit that combines all types of corners where we’ve struggled this year – corners where you need to brake a lot, enter the lean with a lot of brake applied, and make the bike turn in the final phase.”
It will be P15 on the grid for @PeccoBagnaia 😔#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/nbaogiwXdw
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 23, 2025
“We knew it would be hard, and it was even harder than we thought it would be.”
Bagnaia struggled from the first practice sessions, not making it out of qualifying 1 and ending up 15th on the grid.
That’s when it became clear to the team that a drastic change was needed – and what better place to make it than at rock bottom?
“We decided to make the change on Saturday because we were in a very difficult situation.”
“We were too far from what we could achieve, and it was the right thing to do it here [where we struggled the most].”
The adjustment required a period of adaptation, and the early laps were challenging as Bagnaia relearned how the bike responded under braking and in fast corners.
Yet gradually, the Italian said, he began to feel the improvements, gaining confidence that the GP25 could finally deliver better performance.
“Already yesterday during the Sprint, I started to feel a bit better, but I couldn’t fully exploit the potential.”
“I felt better, I could brake hard. I made two braking errors, but when you change the bike so much, there are reactions you don’t expect.”
8th place slipped away from @peccobagnaia as he went wide in the last lap 👀#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/1OAt577Ux2
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 24, 2025
“It sounds strange, but I’m happy with ninth place. The big change we made helped me a lot.”
With the championship on the brink of going to his teammate Marc Marquez, the focus for Bagnaia has long shifted towards 2026 and solving the issues he’s facing this year in time.
“I’m one of the people who believes in myself the most. I know it’s a difficult period, but I also know I’ll get out of this one.”
“The key is to resolve everything this year, because it’s essential to lay the foundations for next year.”
