Toto Wolff admits Mercedes F1 cost cap fears with new upgrades plan

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Mercedes

Toto Wolff admits Mercedes F1 cost cap fears with new upgrades plan

Wolff will have to keep a close eye on Mercedes' upgrades plan

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 3 August 2026 08:15

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F1 team principal Toto Wolff has provided an update on the cost cap situation at Mercedes following comments about Ferrari's rapid development rate across the first half of the championship.

The Brackley-based F1 team have taken a much more reserved approach to bringing upgrades than their Italian rivals this season, with Wolff confident in his decision to concentrate on upgrades in the second half of the year.

It was clear right from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix back in March that Mercedes had come closest to mastering the new chassis and power unit regulations, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli having won eight of the first 11 grands prix of the year between them.

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Aside from bringing an upgrades package that included an updated front wing for the Canadian GP, Mercedes have held back on their developments, something that Wolff has clarified was a conscious decision.

After hinting that the Scuderia could be coming close to exceeding the cost cap due to their aggressive development, Wolff has now suggested that Mercedes need to keep an eye on their own financial situation as they introduce upgrades after the summer shutdown.

Wolff closely monitoring Mercedes cost cap situation

Even with the first half of the 2026 campaign having seen Ferrari bring multiple upgrades packages, star driver Lewis Hamilton insists the Maranello squad are working hard to bring further updates in the second half of the season.

This is an approach Wolff is also planning to take with Mercedes, although the cost cap did appear to be weighing on his mind as he warned his squad last time out at the Hungaroring they would need to be careful about the rate at which they bring their own changes.

"We need to be really just strategic about when to bring the upgrades," said Wolff, going on to confirm a new approach to the development race so as to not breach the current cost cap.

"Rather than just throwing it in at every grand prix like in the past, we cannot do this, so you will have to eventually put an upgrade in and probably you leapfrog a little bit the others and then it kind of flattens out and the other ones coming stronger.

"So, yeah, we're bringing upgrades, we're closely monitoring how much we can bring and at the moment cost cap wise we're in a good spot, we've tried to have it a little bit more second half of the season, waited – and let's see if that's enough."

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