Francesco Bagnaia has owned up to the mistakes that led him to miss out on direct access to Q2 for the second straight edition of the Thai Grand Prix.
In 2025, the factory Ducati rider missed the cut on Friday before topping Q1 on Saturday morning to rescue his weekend. It was a sign of things to come later in the season, however, as Bagnaia’s year descended into a nightmare.
Now the Italian faces a similar situation at the Buriram opener, where again much will depend on him producing the goods in Q1. The 29-year-old accepted blame for the way he handled the constant threat of rain during practice on Friday.
“It was my bad,” he told media afterwards. “I didn’t work well. I had too much rush.
“Before the session, we just decided to change the set-up a bit. But it was in the wrong direction. And as soon as I started to see the sky becoming grey, we decided to put on new tyres to do a better lap.
“But with that set-up, I was struggling. And then I was too late.
“So, [it was] my mistakes.
“I need to be more calm. As the first day of the season it could have been better, but I need to remain more calm.”
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Steve Wobser / Getty Images
Another Friday disaster for Bagnaia ran contrary to his pre-season testing form at this track and thus the expectations of many observers. But the Turin man assured his fans that he was still fundamentally happy in normal conditions.
Asked how the bike had felt in general before the pre-practice set-up change, he replied: “Quite good. It’s clear that the conditions have changed a bit compared to the test. But it’s OK. And this morning I was quite happy with the bike.
“We struggled a bit with tyre consumption, and we saw that Aprilia with [Marco] Bezzecchi was really competitive. And I think that at this moment he is three or four tenths faster than the other bikes. But the feeling was quite good.”
Bagnaia added that he was feeling better aboard the latest Ducati in terms of corner entry: “It looks like you can brake later and stop the bike [earlier]. So, it’s a good improvement for me.”
Bagnaia continues to use the 2024 fairing on his bike, however. Team-mate Marc Marquez is doing the same, albeit because this makes the bike less physical to ride given his current injuries.
In keeping with the rules, the top two riders from Q1 on Saturday morning will proceed to the battle for pole position in Q2.
Watch: MotoGP 2026: Thai GP – Iconic Moments
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