Pecco Bagnaia disappoints again: “My fault.” But he won’t give up—and even quotes Einstein

A difficult Friday for the three-time world champion, who is struggling in Australia as well. There is also an off-track issue close to his heart that he believes is essential to address in depth.

Francesco Bagnaia loves the Phillip Island circuit, but once again this year he has been unable to be competitive. Things are even worse in 2026, as he failed to secure direct entry to Q2 in MotoGP qualifying. He ended the first day in fourteenth place, almost two tenths of a second off the top 10. He made progress compared with the disastrous FP1 session, but it wasn't enough, and he will have to contest Q1, which could be wet.

Pecco continues to struggle with grip and can't get the bike to turn as he would like: "The day went as expected. I knew it could be tricky - he told Motosan - and I did everything I could to do well, but the lack of grip is still a problem. As the day went on, run after run, my feel and performance improved, but I wasn't able to put together a perfect lap in the time attacks. It's my fault: I made mistakes, and I think I lost two tenths that would have been enough to get me into the top 10".

Rain is forecast at Phillip Island over the weekend, and Bagnaia confirmed that he is not hoping for a wet race, as his problems with feel and grip could get worse in those conditions. While some riders see rain as an opportunity to gain positions, the three-time world champion believes he would not benefit from it.

Speaking to Sky Sport MotoGP, he also quoted a line attributed to Albert Einstein: "It is better to be optimistic and be wrong than pessimistic and be right". Despite the difficulties and the risk of facing a particularly challenging wet weekend, the Ducati Lenovo team rider is trying to stay positive and give everything he can to improve his situation, perhaps even surprising himself by exceeding his own expectations.

An important meeting was held among the MotoGP riders at Phillip Island to revisit the need to create a kind of riders' union to protect them on safety issues. Bagnaia is among those pushing hardest for this solution: "I believe unity and a riders' association are important. We started addressing this issue in 2023, but circumstances beyond our control prevented us from moving forward. It was the right time to start again. I think it's important for us to be better protected and to have a stronger voice in certain decisions".

Pecco's argument makes perfect sense, although finding a leader for the association won't be easy: "Now we just need to find someone to represent us. Perhaps it would be better if it were someone from outside this world, an impartial person who worked toward just one goal: safety and us riders".

There is often a sense that riders' opinions go unheard, and that they carry little weight even on issues where their views should be given serious consideration. The Qatar Grand Prix has been discussed with increasing insistence lately, and it should not go ahead for safety reasons, given the danger in the Middle East.