Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has offered Ferrari a new calculator after the Italian team remarked that lifting the engine freeze wouldn’t result in higher costs.
Ferrari and Renault have made clear that they would support a move to allow in-season power unit development in an attempt to level the playing field and catch-up with rival Mercedes.
The German company voted against the plans, effectively blocking such a move until at least the 2016 season, citing increased costs as the biggest factor.
Ferrari’s Marco Mattiacci rebuffed the claims and said they see no reason why costs would rise, but Wolff was puzzled as to how they came to such a calculation.
“We are developing an engine and power unit until the end of the year, and then it is being manufactured, frozen and then delivered to customers at the same time,” explained Wolff.
“If you have a development cycle in-season, and you bring a new spec in-season for the end of June/end of July then the whole development process, because the most expensive bit is running parts on the dyno, is happening twice a year.
“I don’t know how they [Ferrari] make that calculation – but we probably need to send them a calculator.
“There is no way you are not spending more. You are spending considerably more and every other argument is just because they don’t think they are where they should be.”
His comments didn’t go down too well with Ferrari’s Mattiacci.
“I think what is unfair is that Toto [Wolff] offered me a calculator, because he says we are not good at calculations.
“Honestly, from our point of view, there is not a cost increase.”
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