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'Something strange' - Francesco Bagnaia complains about tyre problems at Grand Prix Austria Sprint, Michelin find 'no anomalies'
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Updated 17/08/2025 at 16:29 GMT+1
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Francesco Bagnaia slipped to eighth place in the first lap of the Sprint at Grand Prix Austria on Saturday, after suffering a huge wheelspin when the lights went green. From there he moved down to 14th before retiring, and after the race he explained that he felt there was a problem with his rear soft tyre. Sunday's full-length race will be shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Highlights: Dominant Marquez claims Grand Prix Austria Sprint win, Bagnaia retires
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ducati Lenovo rider Francesco Bagnaia blamed "something strange" affecting his rear tyre after he suffered a disastrous Sprint at Grand Prix Austria on Saturday.
Bagnaia had qualified in third spot ahead of the race, and was namechecked by his team-mate and rival Marc Marquez as a threat for the weekend’s racing.
However, the Italian struggled from the off, as he fell well down the pack in the opening seconds as he failed to get a quick start when the lights turned green.
He was later seen wobbling on his bike as he struggled to find his rhythm, and while he has often failed to find his best form this season in Sprints, it seemed that a technical fault was at the heart of his disappointing performance this time around.
The two-time world champion fell as low as 14th before his retirement, and Bagnaia put the blame on his rear soft tyre, saying it was only effective for the first three laps.
The race was won by Marquez, who made up ground from his fourth-placed start.
- Marquez pleased with ‘super consistent’ display in Grand Prix Austria Sprint win
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"Difficult to explain well," he said after the race. "But I started super bad. Already on the warm-up lap I felt something strange on the rear tyre. And when I started, the rear was spinning a lot.
"Then after three laps I completely finished the rear tyre, and then I started to shake a lot on the straights and I had to stop because I arrived to the first corner without a front brake because of the shaking.
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'A terrible start for Pecco Bagnaia' - Former world champion suffers awful Sprint start
Video credit: TNT Sports
"So, honestly nothing worked during the Sprint, and I’m just waiting for Michelin to explain to me what really happened, because I really know that they don’t know what happened. But working together will help us to improve."
Sunday’s full-length race gives him a chance to whittle down the lead of Marquez, who won on Saturday to go 183 points clear of Bagnaia, and 123 of his nearest rival and younger brother, Alex Marquez.
'No anomalies were detected' - Michelin give investigation update
On Sunday, Michelin released the findings of their initial investigation.
While they said that they would continue to look at reasons for the problem, they so far had found "no anomalies."
The statement read:
"1. Bagnaia’s tyres were manufactured just two months ago, at the same time as the others, on the same machines and using the same raw materials and semi-finished products. No anomalies were detected.
"2. We analysed the data with the team and, particularly during the first four laps, the levels of temperature, grip and wheel spin were identical to those of the other Ducati bikes.
"3. We will continue the analysis once we are back at headquarters in order to identify the origin of the oscillations, both from the bike side and from the tyre side."
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'That's all he needed, one mistake!' - Marc Marquez moves past his brother Alex in Sprint
Video credit: TNT Sports
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