ZANDVOORT — Toto Wolff has claimed that Mercedes is not in the financial position to carry out the level of developments to its Formula 1 car compared to its rivals.
The German marque has been, for the most part, the class of the field in 2026, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli leading the way in the Drivers’ title, and increasing its lead in the Constructors’ standings.
Ferrari has been able to keep in-touch with two victories, a feat now matched by McLaren with Lando Norris’ second victory coming in Zandvoort on Sunday.
Antonelli voiced caution about its status as the best team after the race, indicating that McLaren has significantly caught up, with Norris’ triumph being sufficient proof.
The 2026 season has been, to a large extent, a development war across the grid, as teams have continued to gather a firmer grasp on the sport’s complicated new technical regulations, and McLaren’s upgrades have certainly made a big difference.
And Wolff, speaking after the race in Holland on Sunday, issued what might be construed as an alarming development.
“We haven’t got the money to put developments on the car,” the Mercedes Team Principal said to media, including Motorsport Week.
“I said it before [that] 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.
“We just can’t do what we can’t do.”
Mercedes to ‘continue executing the plan’
Pressed to explain why Mercedes, a team that dominated the 2014-2011 regulations cycle, is apparently lacking the monetary clout compared to others, Wolff responded: “Did we spend too much at the beginning in the initial development? I don’t think so.
“I just think we’re an organisation that has a certain size and infrastructure. And, you know, in that respect, we had a really quick car.
“We left between 50 and 100 points on the table with reliability issues and that would have given us a little bit more of a gap than we have today.
“Other than that, we’re just continuing to execute what the plan was and what the financial realities mean for us.”
Wolff concluded: “You will see how towards the end of the season if they’re going to be able to deploy as much stuff onto the car as they do now.
“Someone might have a different strategy in spending more at the beginning and in the middle of the year than towards the end.”
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