Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has pledged that the Scuderia will head into the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid brimming with determination, intent on erasing the sting of their recent "failure" at Monza. The Italian marque entered its home race with lofty hopes, especially after both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc posted impressive lap times in Friday’s practice sessions.
Yet the optimism was quickly dampened when neither driver secured a front‑row start in qualifying, and the race itself unfolded as a series of setbacks. Hamilton, who had qualified fourth, was forced to drop to tenth after an aggressive duel with Leclerc at the first chicane. The contact sent Hamilton off the racing line and into the gravel at Turn 2, a moment he later described as frustrating and avoidable. Leclerc’s fortunes were even worse: on the third lap he suffered a heavy crash that not only destroyed his car but also left the Monegasque driver with temporary eye irritation.
Despite briefly climbing to third place during the race, Hamilton could not find the raw pace needed to challenge the leaders and ultimately crossed the line in sixth, trailing both Mercedes drivers, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, and the two McLaren entries. "We will arrive in Madrid with all the energy required to achieve a strong result," Vasseur declared in the post‑race press conference. "Monza was far from a normal race for us, even if I try to downplay it during the week. With the Tifosi behind us, we felt a deep responsibility to deliver something special as a thank‑you for their unwavering support and enthusiasm.
We all share the feeling that we fell short, but rest assured we will come back far stronger." The Italian side has already introduced its second and final power‑unit upgrade of the season, yet the cars still lag behind the Mercedes‑powered rivals on the long straights. Straight‑line speed has been Ferrari’s Achilles’ heel all year, a deficiency that is less pronounced on the twisty, technical layout of the new Madring circuit. Vasseur admitted he does not expect the team to instantly close the power‑unit gap to Mercedes. "When you lack pure horsepower, you start to manipulate deployment to compensate on the straights," he explained.
"But any gain in one area inevitably costs you elsewhere, creating a negative spiral. It’s not just about deployment; even McLaren was tweaking their settings on Friday and Saturday.
In the end, we are missing raw power." Earlier in the season, after the first Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) review, Ferrari was found to be more than four per cent off the benchmark set by Red Bull’s engine. This gap granted the Scuderia permission to introduce two engine upgrades this year and another for the 2027 season, when a brand‑new power unit will be fielded.
"Engine development is a marathon, not a sprint," Vasseur noted. "Chassis upgrades can be implemented almost overnight, giving an immediate boost to performance.
Engine work, however, is constrained by long lead times for parts and the complexities of the cost cap. You have to produce a reliable unit for the entire season, and any new development cycle means building a fresh batch of engines.
We don’t expect to recover fully with ADUO 1 or ADUO 2; we are taking incremental steps." He added that even a modest increase of a few horsepower can translate into a significant grid advantage, moving a car up by several positions. "Next year we will have a completely new engine, and our target is to close the gap as quickly as possible," Vasseur affirmed.
Beyond the technical narrative, the schedule for the Spanish Grand Prix weekend is packed with support series and fan‑focused events. Thursday, September 10, will feature a drivers’ press conference at 2 p.m., followed by a paddock uncut session at 5 p.m. Friday’s agenda includes Formula 3 and Formula 2 practice sessions, the first F1 practice at 12:30 p.m., and the team bosses’ press conference at 2:40 p.m., culminating in the second F1 practice later in the afternoon.
Saturday will see a Formula 3 sprint, the third F1 practice, a Formula 2 sprint, and the crucial qualifying session for the Grand Prix. Sunday rounds off the weekend with the Formula 3 feature race, the Formula 2 feature race, and the main event – the Spanish Grand Prix – followed by post‑race reactions and analysis.
All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract, allowing fans to cancel at any time. As the Scuderia prepares to tackle the new Madring layout, the team’s focus will be on extracting maximum performance from the chassis, fine‑tuning energy deployment, and leveraging any incremental power‑unit gains.
While the road to parity with Mercedes and Red Bull remains steep, Vasseur’s confidence suggests that Ferrari is ready to turn the disappointment at Monza into motivation for a stronger showing in Spain and beyond.