Bagnaia came into the 2022 season as one of the favourites to fight for the championship, having ended up just 26 points behind 2021 title winner Fabio Quartararo at the conclusion of a breakout campaign for the Ducati rider.
But a troubled pre-season on the GP22 put Bagnaia onto the back foot, with the Italian electing to revert to a 2021-spec engine prior to the opening round of the year in Qatar.
