Bagnaia stops trackside to calm down after

Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia deliberately stopped his motorcycle at the side of the track after Friday practice at the Aragón Grand Prix to calm down. The two-time MotoGP champion finished the session in 13th place, over a second behind pace-setter Marco Bezzecchi's Aprilia, and failed to secure automatic entry into Q2.

Bagnaia told Motorsport.com he was "frustrated with himself" after a final push on a fresh soft tyre was undone by a mistake in the last corner. He chose not to return directly to the garage. "I needed to stop," Bagnaia said. "I didn't stop in the garage because I was very nervous and frustrated with myself that I didn't manage to finish a single lap."

He explained the reasoning behind the unusual track-side pause. "I needed to calm down a bit because in that situation, when you are frustrated and nervous, you can say many things that you are not thinking about," Bagnaia stated. "When you are working in a difficult situation it's easy to compromise the work of the team, so it was better to breathe a bit."

A Deteriorating Feeling

Bagnaia's struggles mark a sharp reversal from his form before the summer break. The Italian said his confidence and results have deteriorated since MotoGP returned at the British Grand Prix in August. "I wasn't expecting this performance. I was expecting to be much faster but, unluckily, it was difficult," he admitted.

"Something in terms of my feeling changed from Silverstone," Bagnaia explained. "Till Sachsenring, I was quite confident that we were improving and the results were a bit better." He revealed he was "risking crashing many times" during the Aragón session despite going "very slow."

Technical Struggles and Team Input

When asked to specify his problems, Bagnaia's list was comprehensive. "Braking, entry and rear grip. So, mostly everything," he said. He described a specific issue with rear grip, stating the bike loses traction at corner entry and again with initial throttle application. "And until I don't pick up the bike completely and I'm straight, I still spin and have a lot of movement," Bagnaia added.

After composing himself trackside, the Ducati rider returned to his team for discussions. He highlighted the input of teammate Alex Marquez. "Luckily, like always, there is Alex Marquez, who is making a difference in many aspects," Bagnaia said. "So I really hope to find a way to follow what he's doing."

Despite the difficulties, Bagnaia expressed hope for improvement on Saturday. "Luckily the team is working well and I think they have a good idea on the table for tomorrow," he concluded. "I really hope that it will work."