In the opening three rounds, the factory team has failed to secure even a single Sunday podium, and the clear performance gap to Aprilia was emphasized during the COTA weekend.

Now, it seems that the Ducati management have entered something of a panic as they believe the issue is more wides than just the fitness of Marc Marquez. Tardozzi has said as much in recent weeks, calling on his team to step up rather than relying on Marc's talents to pull them out of the rut.

"In my opinion, Marc is not yet at 100%." said Tardozzi after the COTA race, "When he passed Raul Fernandez and caught up with Pecco and Bastianini, he gained eight tenths in five or six laps. [...] This means that, when he’s in shape, he’s capable of overtaking his rivals, but Marquez is Marquez."

Speaking on Marc's fitness, Tardozzi had the following to say:

"If you ask me for a percentage… it’s like rolling the dice. I can’t say it, and I’m sure it wouldn’t be accurate. Unfortunately, what happened in Indonesia still has consequences; it’s not quite right yet."

The team will perhaps be gladder than anyone for the postponement of the Qatar Grand Prix until November, giving Marquez a four-week break to recover ahead of the race in Jerez, which marks the start of the European tour.

Gigi Dall'Igna, Ducati's lead engineer, also released a professional and reserved statement via Ducati's website, and while the praised the positives from the weekend such as Di Giannantonio's pole position, he was realistic about the team's current situation.

"What is crystal clear is that we need to work hard to improve and put our riders in a position to give their best, especially now that the opposition is proving to be so competitive.

"In the USA we strugglDucati's Struggles in 2026: Tardozzi and Dall'Igna Address Team's Slow Started more than we should have had: a wake-up call that must drive us to get back to winning, confident that then it will be even better!"

Ducati certainly haven't had the start they were anticipating to kick off the 2026 MotoGP season, but there could be some hope just around the corner as Jerez will enable them to bring new upgrades to the bike. Read all about it here.