Bagnaia's Worst MotoGP Weekend of 2026 at Silverstone

Francesco Bagnaia endured a nightmare weekend at the British Grand Prix, failing to score points for the first time this season. Returning to MotoGP just weeks after surgery on his right forearm, Bagnaia never looked comfortable on his Ducati GP26 at Silverstone.

Optimism quickly faded as his performance worsened with each session. In practice, he struggled with braking and crashed late on, missing direct Q2 entry. On Saturday morning, his qualifying time was even slower, seven tenths off Franco Morbidelli's pace on the GP25.

Grip Woes and a Strange Crash

In the sprint, Bagnaia lost significant time due to tyre graining, much like teammate Marc Marquez. His pace dropped into the 2m02s range. Starting 16th in the main race, he was running 17th before crashing at Luffield on lap 8. Bafflingly, he lost the front after the apex—something he had never experienced before.

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“I never lost the front exiting from a corner, so, very strange,” he said. “Looking at the data, it's very difficult to see something. The only thing is that the front steering completely closed... I completely lost the front in a matter of milliseconds. So, very strange. But it's what happened.”

A lack of rear grip has been a persistent issue for Bagnaia in 2026, which he identifies as the biggest factor holding him back. While Gresini has found a solution for Alex Marquez's bike, Bagnaia continues to deal with it on the factory Ducati.

“I changed everything. The set-up, electronic side, but the problem is not that,” he added. “From the first race of the season, I don't have any grip. Completely zero. And we don't know what to do, because there are riders in Ducati that have a lot. So, it's very difficult to understand.”

With this poor result, Bagnaia falls further behind in the title fight. The pressure is mounting, and he admits: “We need to rise from this situation, because I don't want to do another weekend like this one.”