Francesco Bagnaia hopes his podium finish at the Italian Grand Prix can signal a competitive turnaround for him in MotoGP.
The factory Ducati rider delivered his strongest performance of 2026 at Mugello, leading the first half of the race from sixth on the grid before finishing third behind the Aprilias of Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin.
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This achievement marked his first Sunday race podium this season, following a previous third-place finish in Barcelona that was awarded only after Joan Mir received a late tyre infringement penalty.
Bagnaia has faced ongoing performance difficulties since the start of the 2025 season, where occasional victories and podium finishes were not enough to hide an otherwise poor run of form.
Despite these struggles, the Italian rider has secured a top-three finish in either the sprint or the Sunday race over the last five rounds in 2026.
Asked if the Mugello weekend marked the end of a “long nightmare,” Bagnaia replied: “I really hope it is like this.”
“From the start of the season, we started to work with a different mindset.
I'm giving everything at home, every training here, to reach the level we used to have,” he stated regarding his preparation.
“Our bike is working in a different way compared to the past, and we are trying to set it in a way that I can be 100% myself and we are reaching this kind of level,” he explained about the technical adjustments.
