Even on his honeymoon, Francesco Bagnaia couldn’t escape the haunting thoughts of his challenging 2024 season. Fresh off a hard-fought championship battle where he lost the title to Jorge Martin, Bagnaia revealed that self-reflection became a dominant theme during his downtime.

The Ducati factory rider married his longtime girlfriend, Domizia Castagnini, in July, but they decided to delay their honeymoon until after the season. While enjoying their winter break—which included a trip to Los Angeles to cheer on the Lakers in the NBA—Bagnaia found himself replaying key moments of his season in his mind.

“I know myself—I need to eliminate mistakes,” Bagnaia admitted in an interview with Sky Sport. “The good thing is that I self-analyse a lot. Even on my honeymoon, I was thinking about certain moments of the season,” he added with a laugh.

Despite the haunting thoughts of missed opportunities, Bagnaia described his offseason as a dream come true. “My winter was a fairytale,” he said. “The honeymoon was much more beautiful than I could have ever expected. It was definitely a winter in which we relaxed to get back ready.”

Looking Ahead

Bagnaia is already preparing for the challenges of the 2025 season. Alongside his new teammate, Marc Marquez, Bagnaia will present the Ducati GP25 on January 20 in Italy, with testing set to begin at Sepang in early February. Ducati remains the team to beat, having dominated the sport in recent years. However, Bagnaia is aware of the intensifying competition.

“This will certainly be a fun season for everyone, but it’s going to be very tough,” he said. “The competition keeps getting higher and higher. I think Aprilia, with riders like Martin and Marco Bezzecchi, will be fast. KTM has strong riders too, even though they had a difficult winter. And I believe Yamaha and Honda will grow, especially Yamaha.”

Lessons Learned and Goals for the Future

Reflecting on his 2024 performance, which included 11 victories, Bagnaia acknowledged the difficulty of replicating such a dominant run. Yet, he remains determined to push his limits further.

“Are those results not replicable? You always have to try to do better,” he said. “If there are 20 races, it means you can win just as many. You have to aim to improve each time.”

For Bagnaia, 2025 represents not just a chance to reclaim his title but also an opportunity to redefine history. With his self-critical mindset and Ducati bike, he is eager to make the upcoming season one of the most thrilling in recent memory.