Francesco Bagnaia “got the short straw” after MotoGP titles, says Casey Stoner

Casey Stoner believes Francesco Bagnaia "got the short straw" amid his Ducati struggles, arguing that too many people dismissed the Italian's complaints about the bike before he was ultimately dropped by the factory.

Throughout 2025, Bagnaia suggested that something had fundamentally changed on the Desmosedici, as he went from a title contender in 2024 to an also-ran on occasions. Although he managed to secure two grand prix wins and several other podiums in 2025, he largely struggled for speed, failing to finish the last six out of seven races

But while both he and VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio struggled to tame the GP25, team-mate Marc Marquez wrapped up the title with five races to spare, showing the bike was still capable of winning the championship despite its weaknesses.

Stoner said he always believed Bagnaia's complaints about the bike were justified, insisting the GP25 behaved differently to its predecessor. 

“I feel very sorry for Pecco because for the last period he has struggled a little bit,” Stoner told MotoGP.com. 

“Everybody lost faith in Pecco because they were saying he is just complaining, it’s the same bike, ‘blah blah’. But I could see from the outside that the bike was not the same. 

“This is a really smooth rider, really smooth guy on all these elements, and I was watching the bike do things it shouldn’t be doing.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Over the winter break, Ducati opted to poach Pedro Acosta from KTM for 2027, with Bagnaia going on to sign a new deal to join fellow Italian Marco Bezzecchi at Aprilia.

This will bring to an end one of the most successful rider/team partnerships in modern-day MotoGP. Bagnaia delivered Ducati its first riders' title since Stoner's triumph in 2007 by defeating Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo in 2022, before successfully defending the crown the following season. 

Stoner hopes a fresh start at Aprilia will allow Bagnaia to build on the form he has rediscovered aboard the GP26 this year, believing the Italian was hard done by during his final spell at Ducati. 

“Considering Pecco is the one that really gave them their first championships since mine, back-to-back, and then was second on either side of that, and was the only Ducati rider really at the front, he got the short straw, for sure. 

“I’m also excited to see what can happen for him, to find some new motivation, hopefully a new family in Aprilia, and to get back to his ways and the way he was confident.”