Assessing Accountability: Can Pecco Bagnaia Justifiably Blame Alex Marquez for His 2024 MotoGP Title Deficit?

Is it justifiable for Pecco Bagnaia to attribute his championship gap to the collision with Alex Marquez? Can the incident that occurred in Aragon be held responsible for his standings disadvantage?

As the 2024 MotoGP season approaches its final three races, Jorge Martin holds a 20-point advantage over Francesco Bagnaia in the championship standings following the Australian Grand Prix.

On Sundays, Bagnaia has secured more wins than Martin, with eight triumphs placing him alongside the ranks of Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, and Jorge Lorenzo for accomplishing a comparable feat in one season.

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Martin has secured victory in just three grand prix races, but he still leads the championship by 20 points. A significant reason for this is Bagnaia's seven race retirements during the 2024 season.

Bagnaia is well-acquainted with the challenge of bouncing back from a significant number of races without points to secure championships. In 2022, he managed to close a 91-point deficit at the mid-season to surpass Fabio Quartararo, who was facing difficulties on his Yamaha, despite enduring five races without scoring. Similarly, in 2023, he experienced the same count of pointless races yet still emerged victorious over Martin.

Bagnaia has reached a new peak with seven victories, while his competitor, Martin, has maintained a steady performance, despite having only secured three Grand Prix wins.

In 2024, the two riders collectively have secured six victories in sprint races. Martin has achieved a remarkable 13 podium finishes on Saturdays. Despite Bagnaia's impressive eight victories on Sundays compared to Martin's three, both riders have an equal tally of 13 podium finishes overall.

In 2024, Martin has experienced four instances where he failed to score points, although two of these occurred while he was at the front of grand prix races, and another happened when he was leading the sprint event in Indonesia.

Is it unforced mistakes or an error by Alex Marquez?

Following a third-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix, Bagnaia reflected on the unpredictable nature of his championship journey. He pointed out the incident with Alex Marquez at the Aragon race as a significant setback currently affecting his championship bid.

"We keep going through phases of recovery and setbacks, maintaining a relatively stable performance," he stated. "Unfortunately, the incident where I collided with Alex Marquez is currently having a significant impact on the championship standings."

The event occurred while the two competitors were contending for the third position, with Bagnaia having the speed advantage and ample time to execute a safe overtaking maneuver. Consequently, Bagnaia lost out on 16 points that day, enabling Martin to expand his championship lead from just three points after the sprint to 23 points. If Bagnaia had secured third place, the difference between them would have been reduced to seven points.

Undoubtedly, it was an expensive complication. However, is this event truly the obstacle that is hindering Bagnaia?

Only two races later, Bagnaia faced another situation where he didn't score any points. After claiming victory in the Emilia Romagna GP sprint, which narrowed Martin's advantage to just four points, he experienced a crash. This happened while he was attempting to recover his position to third place after an unusual problem with his tires had removed him from contention for the win during the first half of the grand prix.

If Bagnaia had secured third place, he would have been trailing Martin by only eight points after Misano, rather than 24. In Indonesia, Martin's victory in the grand prix earned him 25 points, while Bagnaia collected 28 points over the weekend, which would have narrowed their gap to just five points. Following an impressive performance in Japan where Martin earned 26 points, Bagnaia would then have moved into the lead by six points in the standings.

In Indonesia, Martin scored 10 points more than Bagnaia, which allowed him to regain the championship lead, but only by a margin of four points rather than 20.

By factoring in the at least six points Bagnaia missed when he crashed while in third place during the Silverstone sprint, along with the 12 points he forfeited after falling from the lead in the Barcelona sprint, the Italian would hold a 14-point lead in the championship.

The incident involving Alex Marquez at the Aragon race sparked debate, as Bagnaia initially accused the Gresini racer of intentionally causing the crash. However, the reigning world champion later withdrew his statement and expressed regret for his remarks.

Certainly, the lost points have influenced his chances for the championship, but this particular incident isn't the one that has most severely impacted his points standing.

Regrettably for Bagnaia, his own mistakes have led to the most significant lost points, and he must swiftly accept this reality to regain control over the championship momentum that Martin has gained.

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