Toto Wolff makes HUGE F1 cost cap breach claim

Toto Wolff

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Wolff makes HUGE F1 cost cap breach claim

Mercedes team principal plans to improve car without overspending

Lauren Sneath

Thursday 22 June 2023 14:57 Updated: 19:21

Toto Wolff is determined that the cost cap will not impede his plans to overhaul the Mercedes car for next season, saying that the team is ‘on track’ when it comes to finances.

The cap limits the amount an F1 team can spend over a calendar year, not a season, to level the playing field between teams and force outfits to keep a handle on costs.

The cap has impacted how teams spend their money and how careful they must be with cars on track.

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Red Bull were found to have breached the cap during the 2021 season. The Milton Keynes-based outfit were fined just over £6 million and face a 10 per cent reduction in their wind-tunnel time, but show no signs of weakness after taking eight consecutive victories this season.

Wolff: Huge organisation tracks our spending

The Mercedes team principal explained that the team tracks its spending meticulously so as not to breach the cap.

Wolff said: “We have set up a huge organisation in our financial department of 46 people, that monitors the cost cap down to the last screw.

"It follows the trend of spending during all of the year and what we've done is basically allocated resource to various projects.

"We stayed below that line all year last year, and we've stayed below that line this year. Considering a normal development switch for next year, this is still pretty much on track.”

The Mercedes team at the Brackley factory work hard to improve the cars

He added that learning is key for the team as they work out how to build a machine to rival the dominant Red Bull.

Wolff said: "The good thing is that we are constantly learning about what the car is doing. There are going to be some fundamental design changes for next year, but it's not that we're building stuff.

“It's more what are we simulating – and that is not measured in money. It's teraflops or wind tunnel hours."