Francesco Bagnaia came into the French Grand Prix weekend knowing something had to give.
But instead of forcing the issue, the two-time world champion made a conscious decision to stop chasing the feeling he once had with the GP24 – and start adapting to the bike he has now.
On Friday at Le Mans, that strategy shift began to show results. Bagnaia ended the day third overall, just 0.184s off teammate Marc Marquez, who led the timesheets with a record-breaking 1:29.855.
“In general, Fridays haven’t been going too badly this year,” Bagnaia said post-session.
“But today I went with a different strategy – trying to adapt myself instead of trying to force the bike to give me back last year’s front-end feeling.”
“That feeling, what I want from the bike isn’t there anymore, so I have to be the one to change.”
That change, however, comes with a cost. Bagnaia admitted he’s had to give up one of his signature strengths – hard braking and aggressive corner entry – in order to unlock more mid-corner speed, something that doesn’t come naturally to his riding style.
“It’s a shame, because braking and entry have always been my weapons,” he said.
“But I just don’t have them now. So I tried to carry more corner speed. It’s not instinctive for me, but the result wasn’t bad.”
His lap of 1:30.039 was competitive, even if Marquez continues to look increasingly comfortable on the factory Ducati.
The #93 not only topped both Friday sessions, but he did so using the updated Ducati chassis he tested in Jerez – a part Bagnaia still hasn’t tried and won’t until the Aragon test later this season.
“You can’t properly evaluate a new chassis during a race weekend,” Bagnaia explained.
“Marc’s using it because he clearly sees an advantage. It may work for him, but that doesn’t mean it’ll work for me too.”
Marquez’s form raises the stakes inside the Ducati Lenovo garage. Despite still being early in their time as teammates, it’s clear the eight-time world champion is fast accelerating through Ducati’s development curve – perhaps even a step ahead.
Bagnaia, though, doesn’t believe the gap is as big as the headlines might suggest.
“It’s real, but it’s minimal,” he said. “In sectors 1 and 2, we’re matched. In sector 4, I’m faster – except in the braking zone for Turn 9.”
“That’s where I’m losing two tenths, because I can’t stop the bike hard and I’m also slow getting it turned in. And even like that, the front doesn’t feel planted.”
Still, Bagnaia remains confident. The focus now is on improving his own performance – taking the next step on Saturday and positioning himself near the front from the start.
“If you can do what Quartararo did last race – get in front and go – it changes everything,” he added.
“The one behind has to take risks to get past you unless they have a clearly better pace. That’s what happened in Jerez.”
“Alex [Marquez] needed a few laps to catch Fabio, and even then the overtake came from way back.”
Bagnaia’s target for Saturday is simple: find that next tenth, start strong, and let the rhythm follow.
Whether it’ll be enough to match a revitalised Marc Marquez remains to be seen – but for now, the champion has committed to a different path.
And that, more than anything, might be the reset he’s been needing.
