Francesco Bagnaia hopes Mugello podium marks end of MotoGP ‘nightmare’

Francesco Bagnaia is hopeful his podium finish at the Italian Grand Prix could mark a turning point for him in MotoGP.

The factory Ducati rider put together his most impressive performance of 2026 at Mugello, leading the first half of the race from sixth on the grid, before settling into third behind the Aprilias of Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin.

It marked the first time this season that he got to stand on the podium after a Sunday race, having secured third place in Barcelona only after Joan Mir was hit with a tyre infringement penalty late on in the evening.

Bagnaia has largely struggled for performance since the start of the 2025 season, with a few standout victories and podiums proving insufficient to mask his otherwise poor run of form.

However, over the last five rounds in 2026, he has broken inside the top-three in either the sprint or the Sunday race.

Asked if the Mugello weekend marked the end of a ‘long nightmare’ in MotoGP, the Italian 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. 

“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.

“It’s true that this GP for me was always super good because the layout of the track suits my style very well. But with a result like this can be a point of start. If we continue like this, I promise that we will arrive again and we'll be back there to fight for the wins.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Instead of chasing an overnight breakthrough, Bagnaia says he is working with Ducati to gradually make his way back up the grid.

The Italian can already see some tangible signs of progress, but insists there are some obstacles he needs to overcome to fight for victories again.

“It's quite clear that we are struggling,” he said. “We are missing rear grip, also compared to other Ducati, so we are trying to follow another way. 

“In my case, in the last two seasons, the bike started to have a different balance, and we are just trying to move back the balance in the position I prefer, and the results are arriving.

“So we just move forward a little, step by step, but we are arriving, and I'm pretty sure that in the future we'll be there fighting with them.”

Asked where he was lacking the most, especially compared to the dominant Aprilias, the two-time MotoGP champion added: “I think we are missing rear grip. With the Aprilia, it looks like you can enter faster in the corner because you can turn more.

“But we are working on it and we are trying to work on it. And the next race is Balaton, where the level of grip is high, so maybe we will have less issues. And then the other two, Brno has amazing grip and Assen has good grip, so I think we can be competitive.”