Toto Wolff confirms Mercedes cannot fund more upgrades

Mercedes’ Formula One title challenge is entering a more difficult phase after team principal Toto Wolff confirmed that the team cannot finance the major car upgrades it would like to introduce. Under the championship’s budget regulations, Mercedes must spread its spending across the season and cannot pursue every development programme available to its rivals.

Mercedes won the first six Grands Prix, with Kimi Antonelli taking five of those victories. Across the following six races, however, the team managed only two wins, while Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, along with McLaren’s Lando Norris, also reached the top step. McLaren is currently third in the constructors’ standings and has strengthened its car around the Hungarian and Dutch rounds.

Wolff said Mercedes invested heavily during the winter and is likely to reserve further spending for the closing part of the season. That approach could leave the team exposed as competitors bring upgrades earlier. Antonelli has described Mercedes as the second- or third-strongest team in the field, although he remains the championship leader and expects developments before the season ends.

Norris is fourth in the drivers’ standings, 83 points behind Antonelli, with 283 points still available from 11 Grands Prix and one sprint. The gap could begin to shrink at next week’s Italian Grand Prix, where Antonelli will start with a grid penalty.