VR46 Ducati riders Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio did not “give to the team what they deserve”, says Ducati Lenovo Team boss Davide Tardozzi.
Di Giannantonio was able to be on the podium nine times in 2025, including in Sprints, but suffered with inconsistency that meant he finished only sixth in the championship.
Morbidelli, on the other hand, was on the podium only four times, including Sprints, and finished seventh in the standings, 31 points behind his teammate, and only 17 points ahead of MotoGP rookie Fermin Aldeguer who took his maiden premier class win during 2025 in Indonesia.
From the perspective of Davide Tardozzi, Team Manager at the Ducati Lenovo Team, the results of Morbidelli and Di Giannantonio were an underperformance considering the level he believes the VR46 team itself is operating at.
“On VR46, that is our first satellite team, we are absolutely happy about the work of the team,” said Tardozzi, speaking to MotoGP.com after the end of the 2025 season in Valencia.
“We care about them and they show us how professional they are.
“But for some reason, Franky [Franco Morbidelli] and Diggia [Fabio Di Giannantonio] don’t perform in the proper way during the season, they have some up-and-down, and that’s something that doesn’t give to the team what they deserve because, again, the team was working very good.”
Both VR46 riders remain with the team in 2026, but, like the majority of riders on the grid, are out of contract at the end of next season.
