Francesco Bagnaia joined an elusive club of just five riders to have won 11 or more grands prix in a single season in the premier class when he triumphed in last weekend's MotoGP finale in Barcelona.
Yet when he returned to the Ducati garage after taking the chequered flag, he was forced to take off the #1 sticker that has adorned his Desmosedici for the last two years.
While Bagnaia magnanimously accepted his championship defeat to Pramac rival Jorge Martin, even watching the podium celebrations from the sidelines as the Spaniard basked in the sparkling wine, the disappointment was clear to see as a third title had slipped from his grasp.
With a winning ratio of well over 50%, Bagnaia would have likely won the title in any other season - but not in 2024 and not with sprint races awarding nearly half the points of a grand prix.
Last season, the Italian's weak point was his performance in sprints, which is where Martin would really regain the points he lost to him in grands prix. But this year, after initial hiccups, Bagnaia stepped up a gear in half-distance races and ended the season with the same number of sprint victories as Martin with seven triumphs.
The difference in total points scored on Saturdays was still the deciding factor against Bagnaia, but that was more down to the sheer number of times he failed to finish races - not a lack of speed in the short format. In fact, five of the eight retirements Bagnaia suffered over the course of the season were in sprints.
His title rival, meanwhile, was not only consistently finishing on the podium, but he was also able to stay upright more often, failing to see the chequered flag just three times all year.
Here's a look at the eight DNFs that cost Bagnaia the 2024 MotoGP title.
Portuguese Grand Prix
Potential points lost: 10-11
Having already given away a likely victory in the sprint and dropped to fourth with a mistake at Turn 1, Bagnaia fared even worse in the Sunday race at Portimao.
Running a distant fifth with just three laps to run, Bagnaia was defending from future team-mate Marc Marquez when the latter attempted an overtake into Turn 5. But the Gresini rider ran wide and, as Bagnaia attempted to retake position, the two riders collided and ended up in the gravel.
While the Italian admitted to being "angry" in the immediate aftermath of the collision, a change of tone could be seen when he recapped the incident after the Barcelona finale. Instead of pointing fingers at anyone, he stressed the onus was on him to avoid a crash with Marquez.
That was because it had dawned on him that, to mount a successful title assault, he may have to give up positions to rivals on certain occasions instead of risking a crash.
Spanish GP sprint
Potential points lost: 4-6
There is a strong argument that Bagnaia lost 12 points in Jerez to no fault of his own.
The 27-year-old was battling with Brad Binder and Marco Bezzecchi for fourth position when Binder threw his KTM up the inside at Turn 1. Bagnaia was sandwiched between the two bikes and came off worse, retiring immediately from the race. No action was taken by the stewards, who deemed it as a racing incident.
While both Binder and Bezzecchi were able to continue without major drama, they later went down in separate crashes and failed to make it to the finish.
French GP sprint
Potential points lost - unclear
A crash in Le Mans qualifying forced him to switch to his secondary bike for the sprint race just a few hours later.
But from the beginning, it was evident that something was wrong, as he slipped to 14th on the opening lap. Running wide and over the gravel trap he then slumped to last place, before peeling into the pits to voluntarily retire.
Bagnaia later explained that it was "dangerous" for him to stay out on the track, but the issue that caused his troubles was never revealed.
Catalan GP sprint
Potential points lost - 12
If the non-score at Le Mans was due to a mechanical problem, his next DNF was completely of his own making.
The Italian was on course for his first sprint win since the 2023 Austria weekend in Barcelona, having successfully outduelled the Tech3 GasGas bike of Pedro Acosta.
But on the final lap, with an advantage of just under a second, he dumped his bike at Turn 5 on the final lap. It was easily one of his biggest mistakes of the year.
British GP sprint
Potential points lost - 7
Bagnaia gave away another near-certain podium in the sprint race at Silverstone. Running in third place, he had just picked up the pace to close the gap to team-mate Enea Bastianini and Martin when he hit the deck on lap 4, suffering another painful retirement.
With Martin going on to finish second, the 10-point lead Bagnaia had inherited just prior to the summer break was slashed to just one.
Aragon GP
Potential points lost - 16
After a tricky start from the dirtier side of the track that dropped him to seventh, Bagnaia was in recovery mode in Aragon.
He had slowly navigated his way to podium positions, swooping around the outside of Alex Marquez for third at Turn 12. But the younger Marquez retaliated and the two came to blows at the following corner.
Bagnaia was lucky to avoid any injuries after getting briefly trapped under the Gresini bike, but another 16 points had gone begging.
Emilia Romagna GP
Potential points lost - 16
Much like the Silverstone sprint, Bagnaia was running behind Martin and Bastianini in the Emilia Romagna GP.
As he later claimed, his lack of pace was down to a rear tyre that did not work as intended for the first 15 laps. But it all counted for nothing as he lost the front end of his GP24 just six laps from the finish, ceding more ground to Martin in the championship.
He was fortunate that Bastianini snatched the lead away from Martin on the final lap with a controversial move, or it would have been a full 25 points swing in the standings in favour of the Spaniard.
Malaysian GP sprint
Potential points lost - 9
As far as the timing of mistakes go, this one must certainly sting the most. Polesitter Bagnaia had lost the lead on the opening lap to Martin and was having to defend from Marc Marquez, who was chasing him in third place.
But before the battle could be settled on track, Bagnaia lost control of his Ducati at the tricky Turn 9, sliding out of the race immediately. With Martin going on to win the sprint, Bagnaia was left facing a 29-point deficit in the championship.
Even three successive victories across the remaining two grands prix and the Barcelona sprint weren't enough to overcome that points gap.
Points scored by Martin and Bagnaia in sprints:
|
Race
|
Martin
|
Bagnaia
|
|
Losail
|
12
|
6
|
|
Portimao
|
7
|
6
|
|
Austin
|
7
|
2
|
|
Jerez
|
12
|
0
|
|
Le Mans
|
12
|
0
|
|
Barcelona
|
6
|
0
|
|
Mugello
|
0
|
12
|
|
Assen
|
9
|
12
|
|
Sachsenring
|
12
|
7
|
|
Silverstone
|
9
|
0
|
|
Spielberg
|
9
|
12
|
|
Aragon
|
9
|
1
|
|
Misano 1
|
12
|
9
|
|
Misano 2
|
9
|
12
|
|
Mandalika
|
0
|
12
|
|
Motegi
|
6
|
12
|
|
Phillip Island
|
12
|
6
|
|
Buriram
|
9
|
7
|
|
Sepang
|
12
|
0
|
|
Total
|
164
|
116
|
Points scored by Martin and Bagnaia in grands prix
|
Race
|
Martin
|
Bagnaia
|
|
Losail
|
16
|
25
|
|
Portimao
|
25
|
0
|
|
Austin
|
13
|
11
|
|
Jerez
|
0
|
25
|
|
Le Mans
|
25
|
16
|
|
Barcelona
|
20
|
25
|
|
Mugello
|
16
|
25
|
|
Assen
|
20
|
25
|
|
Sachsenring
|
0
|
25
|
|
Silverstone
|
20
|
16
|
|
Spielberg
|
20
|
25
|
|
Aragon
|
20
|
0
|
|
Misano 1
|
1
|
20
|
|
Misano 2
|
20
|
0
|
|
Mandalika
|
25
|
16
|
|
Motegi
|
20
|
25
|
|
Phillip Island
|
20
|
16
|
|
Buriram
|
20
|
25
|
|
Sepang
|
20
|
25
|
|
Total
|
321
|
345
|
