Revealed: The big-money salary in Francesco Bagnaia's new Ducati contract

Francesco Bagnaia's new Ducati contract comes with a hefty pay-packet, a reward for his results over the past two seasons.

Bagnaia penned a new deal with his existing team, tying him to the Italian manufacturer until the end of 2026, ahead of this weekend's 2024 season-opening Qatar MotoGP.

Bagnaia is now paid around €7m (£6m) per season, according to Motorsport.

But he could actually exceed €10m (£8.5m) per season depending upon his results.

That's because his contract has a base annual salary of €7m (£6m) plus a bonus if he wins the championship.

Bagnaia's previous contract was signed at the start of 2022 before he won the title. At this time, he was earning the same money as Pramac's Jorge Martin and then-Gresini rider Enea Bastianini until his championship-winning bonus kicked in.

The base salary in his new contract reflects his status as a two-time champion.

The money involved in Bagnaia's contract represents a major shift in methodology for Ducati since the days of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, who were both compensated hugely.

Lorenzo, for example, was pocketing a reported €25m for each of his two unsuccessful seasons.

Throughout this period of paying out huge salaries, Ducati failed to win the MotoGP title.

Finally, Bagnaia ended their 15-year wait since Casey Stoner's 2007 glory.

Bagnaia won the title in 2022 and retained it last year, becoming only the third rider in the MotoGP era to claim back-to-back titles (after Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez).

Those results meant that extending Bagnaia's contract was Ducati's priority.

Each of their other seven MotoGP riders will see their current deals expire at the end of this season, along with most of the grid.

But the frenzied silly season that awaits will not include Bagnaia, whose future is no longer up for grabs.

The seat alongside him in the factory Ducati team for 2025 is arguably the hottest ticket on the market. Enea Bastianini's position is under threat from Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez, most notably.

Bagnaia enters this weekend's Qatar MotoGP, along with Martin and Marquez, as they key contenders to win the 2024 title.