2024 is the second consecutive season that Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin have battled each other for MotoGP World Championship glory.

But in a reversal of last year, Pramac runner-up Martin has led the points standings for most of the season.

The Spaniard is 10 points ahead of Bagnaia heading into this weekend’s Australian MotoGP, the first of four remaining rounds.

Asked how he feels Martin has changed as a rider compared to last season, reigning double champion Bagnaia replied:

“I think the biggest difference compared to last season is that he started this season much better.

“In terms of the points, he was [nearly] always at the top. He led more or less all the championship apart from Qatar, because I won [round one], then Sachsenring and [Austria] where I was in front by a few points.

“He was quite constant, more than me, we had some unlucky situations for contacts or issues with the bike.

“But what I think he has improved is that he knows he can win, he knows he can be competitive. So this makes a huge difference.

“It’s the biggest difference I felt when I won my first race in MotoGP and the first time I fought for the championship in 2021. This makes a huge change.

“But in terms of the mental side, I think you will not understand it until you arrive at the very last part of the championship.”

Indeed, Bagnaia, who won both his MotoGP titles at the final round, against Fabio Quartararo (2022) and Martin (2023), revealed that the pressure of fighting for the world championship doesn’t get any easier.

“I thought that I was more prepared last year, compared to the year before when I didn’t sleep and I was nervous,” Bagnaia explained.

“I thought I was controlling well last year but then when I arrived in Valencia – I was feeling a bit better because I had a 21-point lead – but the mental side was more or less the same.

“Because you feel the pressure, it’s normal. And you have to fight also against the pressure.”

2024 is the last time Martin and Bagnaia will fight for a MotoGP title on the same machinery for the foreseeable future with Martin switching to Aprilia after Marc Marquez was chosen as Bagnaia’s 2025 factory Ducati team-mate.