Francesco Bagnaia, rider for the Ducati team, has firmly responded to a video circulating on social media, in which he seemed to affirm that Ducati was preventing him from perfecting the setup of his bike. The Italian rider insisted that his comments were “totally taken out of context.”
After a complicated race in Misano last weekend, Bagnaia was seen talking with Fabio di Giannantonio from VR46 in a space set up for television. A fragment of this conversation, broadcasted by the Spanish channel DAZN, has sparked a significant amount of reactions on social media.
Di Giannantonio suggested that Bagnaia had tried a bike setup considered very “basic.” In response, the rider commented that “they weren’t letting him do it,” which triggered a wave of comments about his relationship with Ducati.
Upon arriving at the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix, Bagnaia rejected accusations that Ducati is not supporting him in his recent struggles. Additionally, he criticized DAZN for having published the video. “There have been many times when I have been asked if the team is supporting me, and I have always said yes, that the team is doing everything possible to help me,” he clarified.
The rider added that what happened in Misano was a “lack of respect” towards his situation, as the comments were extracted from a conversation that was not entirely secret. “The video that was recorded is out of context. It is cut and does not reflect our full conversation,” he explained.
Bagnaia detailed that he had already tried several changes to the bike to solve the rear grip issues. “My comment was not expressed in the right way, but what happened afterwards was a disaster for me, because it is totally out of respect,” he commented.
Despite the controversies, the rider stated that his relationship with Ducati remains good after discussing the situation with the team management. “We spoke yesterday. It’s normal that it looks terrible on television, but during interviews I have explained that Ducati supports me,” he concluded.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
