Niki Lauda has hit out at the pressure that Ferrari's president Sergio Marchionne is putting on the faltering Maranello team.

Heading into the Barcelona round, Ferrari and Fiat chief Marchionne had said that he expected the team to immediately end its winning drought in 2016.

However, the red cars were actually outpaced in qualifying not just by the normally-dominant Mercedes, but also the Red Bulls.

"The fact that Ferrari is so far behind is very surprising," Lauda, Mercedes team chairman but also a former Ferrari champion, told RTL.

"The problem with Ferrari is that they are under pressure - the more Marchionne calls for wins, the more the Italians make mistakes."

Sebastian Vettel, normally Ferrari's lead driver, even trailed teammate Kimi Raikkonen on Saturday, but insisted that the pressure is not getting to the team.

"[Marchionne] talks to us internally, it is not just what is written in the newspapers," the German told Marca. "So this does not affect us in the way you may think.

"[Sunday] he will come and wish us luck. Yes, he is our president, but also a big fan who wants Ferrari to succeed. We all have ambitious goals and do not need any warnings."

Asked if he can deal with the pressure at Ferrari, the German told Spain's El Pais: "I am always asked about the pressure, but in Red Bull I had Dr [Helmut] Marko who can be quite demanding!

"The pressure I have, I put on myself and it is much greater than anything else coming from outside. Nobody has to tell me to win."

Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton will be on pole when the Spanish Grand Prix gets underway today.