Francesco Bagnaia has suffered a disaster at the Grand Prix of France as he crashed out of the Sprint race.
Lining up on the second row of the grid, the Ducati rider fell from his GP25 going through the first chicane while running in fourth. Teammate Marc Marquez claimed his ninth win of the season from Gresini duo Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer.
It is the first major mistake Bagnaia has made in 2025, but it was one he could not afford to make. The Italian, despite having his best start to a MotoGP season prior to the French Grand Prix, has offered little competition to his teammate and even Alex Marquez on the year-old GP24.
Bagnaia has claimed one win so far and has finished third six times as he struggles to find one-lap pace in qualifying and make up ground in the races. Saturdays have been a huge weakness for the two-time champion – Le Mans being his worst in 2025.
His crash comes after fresh pressure from Ducati chief Luigi Dall’Igna, who told Bagnaia after the Spanish GP via LinkedIn that he fell short of expectations.
Bagnaia accepted the criticism as he knows he has to find feeling on the bike. The crash in the Sprint will do no favours, with Dall’Igna having a telling reaction inside the garage.
MotoGP fans think Luigi Dall’Igna has lost patience with Francesco Bagnaia after his French Grand Prix crash
Moments after Bagnaia’s crash, MotoGP cameras cut to Dall’Igna in the Ducati garage, where he was seen hitting his knee and looking briefly away from the monitors.
Given his criticism of the 28-year-old before the race, many fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to comment on Dall’Igna’s reaction to the crash.
“I heard Dall’igna’s soul blaspheme the eternal father,” commented one fan, while another posted a meme: “Dall’Igna as soon as he saw Bagnaia fall,” while an image of a banner in a crowd reading: ‘Oh Nooo’.
“The reaction of Gigi Dall’Igna topp,” wrote another user. One fan expects another critical message on social media from the Ducati chief, as they said: “Looking forward to reading what Gigi Dall’Igna will say on LinkedIn.”
One MotoGP fan feels patience is wearing thin at Ducati: “Look, I have the impression that Dall’Igna’s patience with Bagnaia has run out. And that the Italian will only become a support for Márquez until the end of his contract.”
Finally, one user sees this accident as extremely damaging for Bagnaia: “This man’s confidence is goooooooone.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number
Sylvain Guintoli says Francesco Bagnaia’s crash may have cost him the championship
The pressure is mounting on Bagnaia to find performance and take the fight to his teammate Marquez and brother Alex. His crash in the Sprint at Le Mans puts him even further behind in the championship standings.
Speaking on TNT Sports 2 (10/5, 14:38) after the race, Sylvain Guintoli reacted to the crash, stating that Bagnaia lacks the pace of the other Ducatis.
“It’s a big mistake. That corner, turn three, this is where you get caught out in the first laps,” he said.
“You have to wait for your tyre to be fully in temperature before you can attack and he was trying to keep up with the top guys, very easy mistake to do, though.
“So for Pecco Bagnaia, he’s been sort of betting on being regular since the start of the season. He hasn’t got the speed of the other guys on the Ducati, and unfortunately there, that’s a mistake that’s costly for the championship as well.”
