Serafino Foti confirms that Ducati decided not to retain Alvaro Bautista for 2026 due to 'a number of reasons'.

After the re-signing of Nicolo Bulega was confirmed earlier in the week, it was confirmed on Thursday that Alvaro Bautista would leave Ducati at the end of the 2025 season.

The Spaniard has been with the Italian manufacturer for the last four years and has won two titles for them in that time.

Serafino Foti, the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Team Manager, spoke about Bautista's departure ahead of Ducati's home round at Misano.

"What was all written was correct," Foti told GPOne ahead of the Emilia-Romagna World Superbike Round.

"The contract had a clause on both sides, and we decided to exercise it for a number of reasons, in order to plan for the future.

"Of course, it hurts to lose Alvaro, it hurts because Ducati Aruba is a family, with whom you share almost two hundred days in a year around the world.

"Alvaro is still our emblem today, you can't forget the two world Championships he won."

Foti went on to discuss the rule changes and how the added weight 'did not help' Bautista and how he is still struggling with the issue today.

"Like in all things, there's a beginning and an end," he continued.

"With Alvaro, we had great moments, even though the ballast did not help him, and all that is clearly visible, even today.

"Unfortunately, that was a blow."

Finally, the Italian spoke about potential replacements for the 40-year-old, although he did not name any options, he did reference 'the future', which could suggest a young rider making their way into the fold.

"We're geared toward what might be the right one for the future," he explained.

"There is no one answer to that question, because it depends on so many factors... As far as I can tell, we will take some time because, right now, nothing has been decided about the future of our team."