The Mercedes F1 team was at the top of their game for a long time. They ruled the F1 grid from 2014 to 2021 during the turbo-hybrid era. There were no worries about exceeding the budget limit as such. The three powerhouses – Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari dominated the grid over the other seven teams. After the Brackley team won the 2021 constructor title, F1 introduced the new cost cap restrictions. To make the game fair for every team financially, the cost cap era began.
But the powerhouses took some time to adapt themselves to the new era. Mercedes is still struggling to catch up with Red Bull’s pace. Hence, everybody must wait and see if the Brackley team introduces more upgrades to make W14 more like RB19 or MCL60. But the question arises if new upgrades make Mercedes breach the cost cap like their rivals in the previous year. The German team is trying to close the gap between them and their rivals, but the budget restrictions are not helping them in their cause.
Toto Wolff Claims Mercedes Has Not Breached The Cost Cap Limits
Recently, Toto Wolff told Sky Sports that F1 auditors asked them a lot of questions. Hence, it proves the new laws are very robust. Mercedes’s boss feels that’s good. He also feels that F1 benefits from strong auditors. They help in maintaining sporting and technical rules and regulations. These F1 auditors must stop any intentional or unintentional cost cap breach. But Mercedes have struggled a lot with their car since last year. They have been through a lot of confusion lately. At first, they thought about continuing with the zero-side pod concept. Then Mercedes realized that idea was not worth it. Hence, they introduced new upgrades in Monaco, including new side pods along with front and floor suspensions.
Later, in Silverstone, they added a new front wing to speed up around the slow-speed corners. But McLaren’s pace after their copy of Red Bull’s design has inspired the Mercedes team. According to Toto Wolff, there are no irregularities at the German team’s camp. They have one entity for everything. All the employees are in the same place, and it is easy to see their respective attributions. On the other hand, Toto Wolff feels when teams like Red Bull have varieties of subsidiaries, the financial situation gets more complex. Moreover, Toto Wolff is not afraid to say that F1 should get rid of all such subsidiaries with the 2026 regulations.
Red Bull Struggled A Bit With New Budget Restrictions In 2021
Especially Red Bull had major issues with the new rules despite their new era of dominance. For breaching the budget limit, the governing bodies penalized Red Bull. The Austrian team had to pay $7 million and receive a 10% reduction in wind tunnel time. Moreover, it was not good for their image either.
However, they have continued enjoying their hegemony on the grid ever since. Red Bull won the 2022 constructor title, and they are on their way to winning the same titles in 2023 as last year. Undoubtedly, Red Bull and its car are the ones to beat at the moment. Everybody has close eyes on Red Bull’s car and RB19’s upgrades. Who knows if they have exceeded the budget again to build the fastest car?