Pecco Bagnaia has hit out at MotoGP broadcaster DAZN, labelling the release of a private conversation as "totally disrespectful." The video, filmed after the San Marino Grand Prix, showed Bagnaia telling Fabio Di Giannantonio that Ducati "won't let me" make certain set-up changes. For the double world champion, it was a blatant invasion of privacy that crossed a line.
Bagnaia's season is already under strain. Three consecutive crashes have left him grappling with a mysterious rear grip issue, and the pressure to deliver for Ducati is mounting. Amid that struggle, the last thing he needed was a media firestorm. Speaking on Thursday ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Bagnaia set the record straight, insisting his words were taken out of context.
“Many times I was asked, ‘Is the team supporting you?’ And I always said yes – the team is doing the maximum to help me,” Bagnaia explained. “After saying that, what happened at Misano was, for me, a totally disrespectful thing by DAZN.” He added that the recording was incomplete and the conversation was private, not secret, but never meant for public consumption.
Bagnaia admitted that his final words in the video were poorly chosen. “Everybody has difficult moments, everybody has frustrations. Sometimes you say things in the wrong way,” he conceded. But he clarified his true meaning: he had already made the set-up changes many times before, and Ducati was simply preventing him from repeating them unnecessarily. “I don’t want to continue this kind of thing,” he said. Yet what came out sounded different.
What hurt Bagnaia most was the breach of trust with the media. “I’ve always been very kind with all of you, never rude, never said anything wrong, trying to have a good relationship because I know how important it is – you are the ones who speak to the world for us,” he said. “And what happened, for me, is not correct.” He also lamented how words can be twisted for clickbait headlines.
As a result, Bagnaia hinted he will be less open going forward. “You can take our words and put them online in the way you want, because you can say three words and have two completely different contexts – positively or negatively,” he said. “You are the ones who need to be transparent and understand what we are saying. But I know sometimes it’s important to have a nice clickbait title, because it works like this. I will try to do less, and in the future you will maybe have less from me.”
Still, Bagnaia stressed his relationship with Ducati remains strong. “I always said Ducati has supported me a lot,” he concluded. Now, his focus shifts to Austria. With Ducati's formidable record at the Red Bull Ring – unbeaten there since 2016 except once – Bagnaia is determined to end his slump. But the controversy could linger. Can he shut out the noise and return to form? The track will provide the answer.
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