Alvaro Bautista could remain with Ducati for the 2026 World Superbike Championship after being released by the factory team.

At the Hungarian World Superbike Round, Alvaro Bautista hinted that he might not completely split from Ducati at the end of 2025.

Earlier in the season, the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati squad announced that they would not retain Bautista for the 2026 World Superbike Championship.

Since the announcement, the two-time World Superbike Champion has been hunting for new rides. He has been linked to the likes of Honda, and with a MotoGP return as an Aprilia Test Rider.

However, the Spaniard still believes that the 'door is not closed' with Ducati and has hinted at a potential ride at an independent Ducati squad.

Bautista said about his uncertain 2026 plans: "The problem is, it’s August, so nobody works, and it’s hard to speak to people!

"Simone, my manager, is working. I hope to have something much earlier than September.

"I’m confident, and maybe in a few days or not too long, we’ll have something.

"We signed a contract for ’25 and ’26, with the possibility to not continue from both sides. Ducati decided we couldn’t keep the same conditions for these two years.

"They never said to me that they don’t want me, and, at the moment, Ducati said, ‘Wait, because we don’t have a decision about the riders yet’.

"The door is not closed.

"It’s true that I accepted conditions being a two-time World Champion that were maybe too low, but I accepted because I wanted to race."

After eight rounds of the 2025 World Superbike Championship, Bautista finds himself fifth in the Championship standings. The 40-year-old has 13 podiums to his name, but has not won a race throughout the season.