Francesco Bagnaia finished fourth in Friday Practice at the 2026 Qatar Grand Prix, joining Ducati team mate Marc Marquez in securing direct entry to Q2. In the team's November 6 report, he placed particular emphasis on work with used tyres and the support he felt from the rear of the bike, rather than simply the finishing position.
Bagnaia felt that Lusail's similarities to Brno in layout and grip helped him find better rear support. The improvement was not entirely unexpected for him: his first time attack was already competitive, and he felt able to build on each run. This was the rider's explanation of his feeling, rather than an announcement that Ducati had introduced a particular technical development.
Ducati's report recorded an improvement from sixth in FP1 to fourth in Practice. MotoGP's official account noted that he briefly moved into second later in the session before ultimately finishing behind Fabio Di Giannantonio, Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi. His satisfaction with used tyres adds something beyond the fastest-lap order: whether the bike is becoming easier to keep in a useful operating state over successive laps.
Marquez finished second, 0.142 seconds behind Di Giannantonio. The official session account described a chain coming off and interrupting his running; he subsequently returned and improved his time. Marquez felt he had achieved Friday's aim of staying near the front, but wanted to see his qualifying result before forming a clearer view of his Sprint chances.
INKA SPORTS Analysis and Conclusion: Used-tyre feedback and the race test
Both factory Ducati riders have avoided the additional task of progressing through Q1. Bagnaia's positive feeling on used tyres and during his first time attack shows that his satisfaction was not limited to the final lap-time position. It does not, however, supply a full comparison with rivals running in identical conditions.
The development is best understood as a more workable foundation for Bagnaia at Lusail. He now needs to turn that feeling into a qualifying position and test it in sustained competition during the Sprint. Marquez's focus on qualifying also underlines that Friday's encouraging feedback still has to survive the demands of the grid and racing against others.
