Ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix, Francesco Bagnaia revealed that he is feeling pressure but is enjoying his current position in the Championship.
For the first time in his MotoGP career, Francesco Bagnaia arrives at Malaysia behind in the title fight. In 2022 and 2023 the Italian was leading the title race at the penultimate round of the season. However, the 2024 season has put the two-time MotoGP Champion in a new situation.
Bagnaia arrives at Sepang 17 points behind Jorge Martin in the Championship. There are a total of 74 points available across the final two rounds. But all Martin has to do if Bagnaia wins all four races left is finish second and he would still win the title.
In the build-up to the Malaysian Grand Prix Bagnaia was asked about the level of pressure that is on him where he has all the work to do if he wants to retain his title.
"In terms of pressure, it is always there," Bagnaia said. "But it is nice to be in this situation, I love being in this situation. It is true that it is a critical situation for one side because you know you have to be fast but not lose points. You have to be the fastest but you don't have to make any mistakes.
"I know that in that situation Jorge (Martin) is in a better situation in terms of the Championship. But I was in his situation last year and you feel you need to be calmer, to be competitive in this situation is not very easy. I think we need to just enjoy the moment and continue working as normal."
In the 2023 Malaysian Grand Prix Martin finished second in the Sprint Race and fourth in the Grand Prix. Whereas Bagnaia finished third in the Sprint Race and third in the Grand Prix. However, in the 2022 season, Martin was leading the Malaysian Grand Prix before crashing out of the lead and gifting Bagnaia the win.
