Mercedes 'haven't got the money' to react to rival upgrade push

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted the team "haven't got the money" to add further upgrades in response to rivals' development push, with budget cap constraints limiting their options. Despite a dominant start to the season, Mercedes has seen McLaren close the gap through upgrades, and Wolff concedes the development race has become tougher.

Why it matters:

The $215 million cost cap forces teams to carefully allocate spending across the season. Mercedes' inability to react with frequent upgrades could allow Ferrari and McLaren to close the gap, but the team still holds significant leads in both championships.

The details:

• Mercedes won eight of the first 10 races, but McLaren's upgrade in Hungary helped Lando Norris take victories in Budapest and Zandvoort.
• Ferrari has brought incremental upgrades at most races, while Mercedes introduced one notable package in Canada and only minor updates since.
• Wolff told PlanetF1.com: "We haven't got the money to put developments on the car. We are trying to evenly split that through the season based on our calculations of when we can bring the biggest updates and optimising the championship points."
• He added that each upgrade from top teams is worth "a couple of tenths" and that the ride has been "a bit tougher than at the beginning of the year."
• Mercedes also left "50 to 100 points on the table" with reliability issues earlier in the season.

By the numbers:

• Kimi Antonelli leads the Drivers' standings by 59 points.
• Mercedes sits 87 points clear of Ferrari in the Constructors' championship.

What's next:

Wolff suggested rivals may have different spending strategies, with some teams spending more early in the season. He said: "You will see towards the end of the year whether they are going to be able to deploy as much stuff onto the car as they do now." Mercedes will continue executing their plan, hoping their early-season advantage and points lead will be enough to secure both titles.