Dovizioso will not stay at Ducati in 2021

Dovizioso joined Ducati back in 2013 and was an instrumental part in bringing it back to the front of the field, winning 13 races between 2016 and 2020 and finishing runner-up in the championship for the past three seasons.

While Dovizioso remaining with Ducati for 2021 looked a likely scenario at the start of the year, talks between both parties stalled during the coronavirus lockdown.

Ducati wants to move away from big-money rider contracts in light of the financial crisis caused by coronavirus, while Dovizioso has been unwilling to take a substantial pay cut.

On Thursday at the Red Bull Ring, Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi said a decision on Dovizioso’s future would be taken after next weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix.

However, after a meeting between Battistella and Ducati on Saturday morning in Austria, he revealed Dovizioso has taken the decision not renew his deal with the team for 2021.

"We communicated today to Ducati that Andrea does not intend to continue for the next few years," Battistella told Sky Italia.

“He now wants to focus on this championship, on these races, and let's say we don't feel the conditions are right to continue in the future. "

Dovizioso’s manager said that no proposal was ultimately tabled by Ducati for 2021, adding: “In practice we have never talked about the economic part so far.

“There have been no proposals or negotiations [for 2021]."

Battistella said in June that a sabbatical was an option for Dovizioso in 2021 should he not be handed an acceptable deal for Ducati.

He added: “Andrea intends to continue racing, of course, if he finds a suitable programme and proposal to do so.”

With the only factory ride outside of Ducati up for grabs being at Aprilia, which is currently waiting for Andrea Iannone’s doping case to be resolved in October before finalising its 2021 plans, Dovizioso now looks unlikely to remain on the MotoGP grid.