Andrea Stella questioned Toto Wolff’s statements about Mercedes’ plans for the rest of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The McLaren boss believes the German team is still preparing updates for their car.
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Mercedes had a more discreet development pace in recent races, while McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull Racing brought several novelties to their cars. According to Wolff, however, the limitation imposed by the budget cap would be the main reason the team does not maintain a constant sequence of updates.
Wolff indicated in Zandvoort that few novelties should appear for Mercedes in the near future. Stella, however, does not believe the situation will remain that way, especially given the approach of McLaren and Ferrari and the competitive moment of his own team.
“I would love to believe it, but I actually don’t,” Stella said when questioned. The Italian explained that teams will have additional financial space in the budget cap because of the power unit changes planned for 2027.
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“If I’m not mistaken, it’s about three million that you can use in the 2026 budget cap calculation,” said the McLaren boss. For Stella, this scenario creates conditions for Mercedes to continue investing in car development.
The executive also believes that Wolff’s team is already working on solutions that have not yet reached the tracks: “I’m sure that Mercedes, now that it has seen the competition step up, will try to take advantage of the development that is undoubtedly already happening behind the scenes,” he added.
Stella also pointed out that the Mercedes car would have superior performance in the wind tunnel compared to the model currently used on the tracks. Therefore, he expects the team to be able to turn part of this potential into effective updates: “I’m almost certain they will come with upgrades. Of course, it would be nice if they didn’t, but I don’t even want to think about that,” he concluded.
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