Bagnaia Left Baffled by 'Unbelievable' Final Lap in Miserable Sepang Race
Francesco Bagnaia finished a distant 13th at Sepang after a final lap more than four seconds slower than his best, and hinted at a previous Ducati technical solution in cryptic post-race comments.
Francesco Bagnaia endured another difficult afternoon at Sepang, finishing 13th in the Malaysian Grand Prix and then describing his final lap as something he could scarcely believe. The Ducati rider's last lap of 2 minutes 5.1 seconds was more than four and a half seconds slower than his own best earlier in the race, and he crossed the line 32.9 seconds behind race winner and team-mate Marc Marquez. "In the last lap I did 2m 5.1s, for me it's something unbelievable," Bagnaia said afterwards, before hinting that a previous technical solution had been available to him. It was a painful contrast with last season at Sepang, where he started on pole, won the sprint and was fighting for Grand Prix victory until a puncture intervened. This year he never threatened the leaders, and his cryptic post-race remarks will only add to the scrutiny of his form and his relationship with the factory team. With the title race heading to Qatar, Bagnaia's struggles remain one of the season's biggest talking points, even as Marquez closes in on another world championship.