'Pressure’ beginning to mount for Bagnaia as first match point awaits at Sepang
After taking over the championship lead for the first time in his MotoGP career, Bagnaia could be crowned world champion at the same venue that saw him clinch the Moto2 title in 2018.
With Fabio Quartararo crashing out for the second time in four races last weekend - was also the Yamaha rider’s third non-score in four rounds - and Aleix Espargaro failing to take advantage in Phillip Island, Bagnaia’s lead in the MotoGP standings is a comfortable 14 points.
With team-mate Jack Miller officially out of contention for the title and future team-mate Enea Bastianini on the brink of being ruled out too, team orders, which have not been prevalent to this stage at Ducati could also be a factor in Sepang and Valencia if the title race reaches the season-finale - a race which was won by Bagnaia in 2021.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, a calm-looking Bagnaia alluded to pressure finally starting to settle in.
The Italian said: "For sure the pressure is there. I’m starting to feel the pressure but at this moment I’m quite happy and I know we did something really good this year.
"Still, we have to finish the job and my main focus at the moment is on that.
"I feel more relaxed at this moment compared to 2018 but it’s something that will totally change tomorrow or Sunday as you start to feel the pressure on race day."
Bagnaia credits Silverstone and Aragon MotoGP races for stunning recovery
If Bagnaia does hold onto his championship lead and take home the title, the Ducati rider would have done so by overhauling the biggest ever points deficit.
91 points back heading into Assen, Bagnaia has gained a total of 105 points on Quartararo, with the French rider scoring just 47 since that Grand Prix back in June.
"Sincerely, a race that gave to me a lot of motivation was Silverstone," said Bagnaia when discussing the turning point in his season.
"I was really struggling all the weekend and was not competitive. In the race I did the 13th best lap but all the weekend I just tried to be the most competitive as possible.
"Also, I was knowing that I wasn’t with the possibility to win but then we made the correct tyre choice and I started to learn from the others regarding what to do better in the race and finally we won.
"The key moment though was Aragon when I finished second on the podium and Fabio unfortunately had a crash.
"This was a moment where I gained a lot of points in a freak way because he didn’t finish the race."
