Francesco Bagnaia felt dizzy after Johann Zarco crash: “Maybe I wasn’t ready to race"

The Italian came away from Barcelona with a first podium of 2026, but a crash with Zarco left him struggling both physically and mentally

Francesco Bagnaia has revealed that he felt dizzy and had to slow down during the latter stages of the Catalan Grand Prix after the heavy crash involving Johann Zarco.

During the first restart, LCR rider Zarco collided with Bagnaia and Luca Marini, sending both riders to the gravel trap. The attention immediately turned to the Frenchman, whose leg had got stuck in Bagnaia’s Ducati. He was later transported to the hospital for check-ups, where he was diagnosed with injuries to his knee and ankle.

While Bagnaia rushed over to Zarco after realising the seriousness of the situation, the two-time world champion also did not escape the incident unscathed.

Although cleared of any injuries following post-race scans, the Italian admitted the impact left him feeling dizzy during the restarted race and questioning whether he was in a condition to continue.

“My impact on the ground was very intense; it was huge,” he recalled. “But as soon as I saw my bike and him attached to my bike, I just saw his leg and this pain - it was a big impact for me.

“Then I just arrived in the garage, moved to the second bike. I just tried to not think too much. I started well, but after three laps, I started to feel dizzy on my bike.

“Every time I was starting to brake, I was feeling like this. I needed to slow down because maybe I wasn't prepared to race, but everything went well in the sense that I didn't cause any big problems.

“I survived till the last lap, I finished the race and as soon as I entered the garage, I didn't feel very good.

He added: “After the race, I got an X-ray on the left wrist. Everything is fine, even if I don't feel very good.

“The problem is on the neck. I feel dizzy because of the cervical. I had a huge impact on the neck. The cervical and the muscles here are contracted, and I feel dizzy.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Qian Jun / MB Media via Getty Images

The incident between Zarco, Bagnaia and Marini led to the second red flag of the day. The race had earlier been stopped after KTM’s Pedro Acosta suddenly slowed down from the lead with an electrical issue, causing a collision with Gresini rival Alex Marquez.

Bagnaia joined several riders in questioning whether MotoGP should have restarted the race for a third time following two major accidents.

“Like I said many times, I'm lucky that I'm not the one who needs to do it [make calls],” he said.

“But maybe we need a rule that if the red flags come from incidents on the racetrack, maybe we don't have to make three [starts]. It's strange because it was too big of an impact. It was difficult to see. And with Zarco I was there, so it wasn't very nice.”

Bagnaia crossed the finish line in fifth place, but was promoted to third after penalties for Joan Mir and Ai Ogura. The result marked the first podium finish for the factory Ducati Team in 2026.