Reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia on being compared to Max Verstappen - "I am enjoying it"

Reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia laughed off comparisons will Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen, saying that the team still has to work a lot for the results to come. The Ducati rider is leading the championship and has been the runaway favorite to clinch the title this season.

With most of the competition like Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez struggling to keep up with Yamaha and Honda, respectively, the rider does not have many challenges. The fellow Ducati stable has factory ride Enea Bastianini injured at the moment, while Jorge Martin on Pramac is too far behind.

As quoted by Crash.net, talking about the comparisons with Max Verstappen, Francesco Bagnaia said that the results took a lot of effort. He said:

No. I am enjoying it. I have a great feeling with my team. We work a lot, improving our situation. We start not in the best way on Friday, but improve every time. In Austria we discovered something to improve our performance. This is one of my favourite tracks."

"I’ve never had a good result, the best was sixth in 2020. Last year was competitive, I started on the front row, but was unlucky on the first corner. Like always, if we work well, we can be fast and competitive to fight for the top positions," he added.

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Francesco Bagnaia had a chat with Marco Bezzechi regarding his MotoGP future

Francesco Bagnaia revealed that he did have a conversation with fellow Valentino Rossi prodigy Marco Bezzechi about his MotoGP future. Bezzechi was not sure whether to switch teams to Pramac and have the factory Ducati under him for 2024 or stick with the VR46 racing team, the squad that has brought him a lot of success but has a year-old bike under him.

In the end, Bezzechi chose to stick with VR46 and as it turns out, Francesco Bagnaia had suggested the same move.

"We spoke about it. It’s better for both - in case we lose, we have an excuse! We don’t have the same bike! But we spoke about it. My suggestion, my advice, was to follow being in the same team. I [understand] the human side," Bagnaia continued.

"When you feel fine with your team, even if you have a competitive but older bike, you can fight for the top positions. We can see when Marco Simoncelli won in 2008 - they removed the factory bike but he still won because the human side was important," he continued.

Bagnaia will be hoping to extend his win streak this weekend at Barcelona where he will be a favorite as well.