Suspicious Mercedes boss Toto Wolff queries how Ferrari can afford “limitless” F1 upgrades

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has questioned how Ferrari can afford its aggressive upgrade push during the 2026 Formula 1 season while adhering to cost cap restrictions. 

Ferrari has consistently brought new parts to its SF-26 since the Miami Grand Prix, and introduced a further batch of upgrades, including its first ADUO-influenced engine update, at the Austrian Grand Prix. 

The Scuderia’s aggressive development push has enabled it to close the gap to Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton inflicting the Silver Arrows’ first defeat of the season at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. 

Mercedes returned to winning ways in Austria as George Russell fended off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Andrea Kimi Antonelli to take his first win since the season opener, while Ferrari struggled and could only take fifth and eighth. 

Despite Ferrari’s poor performance, Mercedes team principal Wolff was still quick to single out the Italian outfit’s relentless development so far this season. 

"We're a little bit surprised that Ferrari can throw these huge updates at the car in the way they do," Wolff told media including Crash.net after Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. 

"In my opinion, they need to be running out of money soon, cost cap money, because we can't do that. We're simply lacking the buffer in the cost cap to be able to bring so many parts in the way they do.

"So, hopefully that's going to change towards the end of the season when they won't be able to bring any parts anymore. At least, let's say, the logic would say that and we're going to come with more.”

Mercedes brought its first big 2026 upgrade to the Canadian Grand Prix, and only debuted an updated front suspension in Austria, along with a modification to improve the reliability of its battery after recent woes. 

Asked by Crash.net how hard it is to keep developing while sticking to the $215m cost cap limit, Wolff replied: "The only ones who are not slowing down are Ferrari. You can see we had one big one that we introduced in Montreal. We have small parts that come in between.

"I think the same for Red Bull and McLaren. It's just Ferrari seems to be limitless in that way. And then on top, they were expecting an ADUO and come with a new engine. So, they must have started development six months ago.”