Francesco Bagnaia is furious. Not about engines or tires, but over Spanish broadcaster DAZN airing his private conversation with Fabio Di Giannantonio at Misano. The Ducati Lenovo rider feels his words were twisted and his privacy violated. On Thursday at the Red Bull Ring, he spoke out sharply.
The incident stemmed from the San Marino Grand Prix. Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio chatted off-camera about the technical struggles Bagnaia is facing. Unbeknownst to them, DAZN's cameras and microphones kept rolling. One remark went viral: when Di Giannantonio suggested a simpler setup, Bagnaia replied, “Ducati won't let me do it.”
On social media, that snippet fueled theories that Ducati is deliberately holding back its departing two-time MotoGP champion. Bagnaia strongly denied such interpretations. “You know me, you hear me every day. I've always said the team supports me. Ducati does everything to help me,” he stressed to journalists.
He explained that the leaked video was incomplete. “It was taken outside the official interview and is out of context. We were talking about something else, a specific component,” he said. Bagnaia also admitted his wording was poor. “Sometimes you say things the wrong way. But what I've always said is that Ducati supports me enormously.”
He further clarified the meaning of “they don't let me” that caused an uproar. According to Bagnaia, it wasn't about a general setup, but a specific part he had repeatedly installed and removed in search of a solution. “Ducati won't let me do it again because we've tried it many times and I don't want to keep going like this,” he explained.
DAZN has since deleted the footage and apologised to Bagnaia. Nevertheless, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the fine line between coverage and privacy in the MotoGP paddock. Bagnaia, fighting to regain form, hopes his focus won't be derailed by off-track drama.
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