“IT’S TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH” Bagnaia’s wife Domizia Castagnini accuses Ducati of deliberately unfair treatment of her husband. From questionable pit stop strategies, to mysterious technical errors, forcing boss Gigi Dall’igna to immediately explain

The atmosphere within the Ducati MotoGP team has become more tense than ever in recent weeks, with the backroom staff of Pecco Bagnaia – his wife, Domizia Castagnini – accusing the team of unfair treatment towards the Italian rider. Although Bagnaia was once one of Ducati’s great prides, winning numerous victories and championships, the 2025 season has seen a marked decline in performance, and Domizia’s accusations are raising the question: is there something Ducati is hiding?

One of the hot spots that has been mentioned a lot is the strategy of stopping in corners or when there are tire pressure warnings – such cases occurred at the recent Brno race. Bagnaia, from pole position and with a promising prospect, was suddenly given a tire pressure warning before and during the race, forcing him to slow down a lot to avoid being penalized. After the race, Ducati issued an official apology, identifying the cause as an electronic system error: a false front tire pressure warning had been triggered, despite the fact that the pressure was within the allowed limits.

But that was not the only issue. Bagnaia frequently complained about the feeling of the new GP25, compared to the GP24 he won 11 races on last season. He said the new bike lacked front-end feel, which made him reluctant to brake deeply or turn sharply, losing some of his racing instinct. Meanwhile, other Ducati riders – like Marc Márquez – seemed to adapt better, achieving more consistent results on the same bike.

In addition, there were very unusual stopping or deceleration strategies observed when Bagnaia was leading or had a chance to make the podium. For example, at the Czech GP (sprint race), Bagnaia slowed down to make way for Pedro Acosta, then continued to lose positions to both Enea Bastianini and Fabio Quartararo. According to analysis, the timing of the tire pressure announcement probably affected his mentality and tactics, forcing him to play it safe rather than attack.

Technical problems also continued to occur – from false electronic warnings, to Bagnaia “not being able to accelerate” on the exit of corners, to rear wheel slippage, or the feeling of unclear support from the technical department. Bagnaia repeatedly asked the engineering team to explain specifically why the performance dropped, the feeling of losing confidence; but according to many sources, the explanations were not complete, or it seemed that there were things they had not yet announced publicly.

Meanwhile, Gigi Dall’Igna – head of Ducati Corse – could not stay out of the picture. He has admitted that he began to lose patience with Bagnaia after a series of disappointing results. Dall’Igna stressed that Ducati needed to “look at the data, understand what was going on” because of Bagnaia’s performance and was looking for clarity from the engineers.

Domizia Castagnini, according to her social media posts, demanded “an immediate explanation” from Ducati about the way her husband was treated – from the pit stop strategy, the tyre pressure warnings, to the “mysterious” technical errors. She said that this was not just a technical or tactical issue, but could be an expression of internal bias, or decisions in favour of another rider in the team. Ducati has so far not made any official statement confirming or denying Domizia’s allegations; they have only apologized for specific errors (such as the incorrect tyre pressure warning at Brno).

If all of this is true, the pressure on Gigi Dall’Igna and the Ducati leadership will be enormous. Because the public, MotoGP fans, and the media are demanding transparency: how can a rider who was a reigning champion and had a clear roadmap like Bagnaia be falling behind like this? Is there a difference in priorities between the riders in the team in terms of development, engineering, or racing strategy?

Ducati is at a crossroads: if they want to maintain the prestige, the trust of their main rider and the support of the fans, they need to face and open up all the problems, give accurate explanations, address the mistakes, and ensure fairness in all decisions — from technical, tactical to psychological support. Bagnaia deserves it. And if not, Domizia’s accusations will be a big stain on Ducati’s history.