Marc Márquez finished second and Francesco Bagnaia sixth in the Austrian Sprint, giving Ducati Lenovo two riders in the top six at the end of the 15th Sprint of the season. The race ran over 14 laps. Márquez’s result came after a brief spell at the front and a late recovery to second, while Bagnaia converted seventh place on the grid into sixth at the chequered flag after progressing through Q1.

Márquez held second at the start and then moved ahead at the first chicane, taking the lead only briefly before being passed by Pedro Acosta. The Ducati rider dropped to third at the beginning of lap eight. He returned to second with three laps still remaining and continued trying to rejoin the fight for victory through the closing stages, but ultimately kept second place to the finish.

In comments published by Ducati, Márquez said the principal target had been to finish directly behind Jorge Martín, with no other rider between them. He described the opening two laps as intense, then said he maintained his pace to secure the best result available while the team was struggling in some parts of the circuit. His assessment was that Ducati needs further work in specific sections of the track. For the longer Grand Prix, he highlighted tyre wear as an issue that will require particular attention.

Bagnaia used the Sprint to prepare for the Grand Prix

Bagnaia’s sixth place followed a different priority. Ducati said that the team had improved its performance in the time-attack session, but used the Sprint mainly as preparation for the Grand Prix. That approach included choosing the medium tyre, a decision Bagnaia considered correct because tyre-wear management will be important over the longer race. The strategy did not make the opening laps easy: he acknowledged that he struggled at first, before finding a more competitive pace.

Bagnaia also reported that his feeling with the motorcycle improved as the Sprint progressed. The remaining areas he identified were grip and traction on corner exit, which he wants to improve before the next session. His sixth place therefore combined a points finish with information gathered for the main race, rather than representing an uncomplicated run from his seventh-place starting position.

Ducati Lenovo is scheduled to return to the track for warm-up at 09:40, followed by the Austrian Grand Prix at 14:00. The Grand Prix is scheduled to cover 28 laps. The team’s account presents the Sprint result as a useful step toward that longer distance: Márquez will need to preserve tyre performance while pursuing the front, and Bagnaia will arrive with the medium-tyre choice and the opening-lap behaviour already evaluated.

The immediate result is clear even before Sunday’s race: Márquez secured second after recovering from third, and Bagnaia gained one position from the grid to finish sixth. The two outcomes also reflect the riders’ separate post-Sprint priorities. Márquez focused on the pace gap in particular circuit sections and the demands of tyre wear, while Bagnaia’s attention moved to race preparation, grip and traction on corner exit.