Vicky Piria believes Ferrari left the Spanish Grand Prix knowing it had not fully converted its potential into the final result. The Scuderia showed encouraging speed during the race in Madrid, but its continuing weakness over a single qualifying lap once again influenced what was realistically possible on Sunday.
The contrast between Saturday and Sunday has become an important theme for the SF-26. Ferrari has repeatedly appeared more competitive over a race stint than in qualifying, a pattern also highlighted by Charles Leclerc after the Spanish Grand Prix.
Vicky Piria highlights Ferrari’s qualifying weakness
Speaking on Sky, Vicky Piria focused precisely on the gap between Ferrari’s underlying race speed and its ability to convert that performance into a stronger starting position.
“For Ferrari, it remains a disappointment because the speed was there in the race. The problem continues to be qualifying. Strategically, they made the right choice, leaving him out to see how the situation would develop. Ferrari’s path, however, continues to never be truly linear.”
The assessment reflects the mixed picture that emerged from Madrid. Ferrari was able to demonstrate competitive pace during the Grand Prix, but the team once again had to approach Sunday from a more difficult position because of what had happened over one lap. On a circuit where track position carried major importance, the qualifying deficit became even harder to overcome.
Ferrari strategy praised despite disappointing outcome
Vicky Piria nevertheless viewed Ferrari’s strategic decision positively. The team kept its option open and waited to see whether the race circumstances would develop in its favour rather than immediately committing to a conventional approach.
That strategic theme was also central to Fred Vasseur’s assessment of Ferrari’s Madrid race, with the Scuderia attempting to maximise an opportunity despite the limitations created earlier in the weekend.
The broader concern is that Ferrari continues to show flashes of genuine performance without following a consistently upward trajectory from one session to the next. The race speed offers encouragement, but until the team can extract more from the SF-26 in qualifying, strong Sunday pace risks being used to recover ground rather than to control races from the front.
That remains one of the key areas to follow in Ferrari’s continuing SF-26 technical development. For Vicky Piria, the fundamental message from Spain was therefore mixed: the speed exists, and the strategic thinking was sound, but Ferrari’s progress still lacks the consistency required to turn that potential into stronger results.
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