Bagnaia Compares 2024 MotoGp Title Loss With Marquez

Bagnaia sees comparisons with Marquez’s 2015 stumble as he looks to revenge his defeat

Francesco Bagnaia feels he may take inspiration from the way Marc Marquez bounced back from his 2015 championship defeat in MotoGP to become a six-time premier class winner.

Marquez had a smashing MotoGP debut with Honda in 2013 to win two titles on the trot, but couldn’t make it a hat-trick of championships in 2015 after throwing up too many points in accidents and retirements.

That setback helped to make the Spaniard psychologically stronger and he took advantage of his enhanced calmness to add another four titles to his total, shattering numerous long-standing records in MotoGP along the way.

Factory Ducati rider Bagnaia faces a same scenario after 2024, with his streak of two titles having been interrupted by Pramac’s Jorge Martin this season.

And much like his 2025 team-mate Marquez, he feels he will be a far more effective force in MotoGP after his title defeat when the new season gets under way in March.

“I'm a very young rider and I think I still have eight-10 years in front of me,” he remarked. “I will try to do my maximum. I will endeavor to continue to be that swift and that powerful. The most important thing is to raise the number in terms of championship titles and I will try my best.

“I'm not considering 2024 like losing properly because I learned from my mistakes. We know that we lost the title for the blunders and this is something that I will better.

“Also, if we look at the start of Marc's career, he won two titles in a row. Then he lost 2015 and then he won four in a row, so you never know. I shall attempt to perform my maximum and to accomplish the highest aim again.”

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Just days after Bagnaia lost the 2024 championship after collecting his 11th grand prix win of the year in Barcelona, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen sealed up the 2024 Formula 1 title.

Bagnaia, who also has a Moto2 world title from 2018 on his CV, acknowledged it was hard to witness Verstappen hoist the F1 trophy in Las Vegas while he was still coming to terms with his own setback.

“In these weeks the most difficult moment was when I saw Verstappen win the title, because it was his fourth.

“There it was a bit of a difficult moment, but there is nothing to complain about Ducati’s season in MotoGP, because it was a fantastic day, which we must be proud of.”

He added: "I just thought about the idea that I too could have been a four-time world champion and that took me back to the defeat a little.

“But I'm living it a bit like an opportunity: I know we lost, but I know why we lost it and that already makes the difference.”

Additional reporting by Matteo Nugnes