Mercedes facing F1 upgrade dilemma as Wolff admits lack of money

The Silver Arrows enjoyed a strong start to the 2026 Formula 1 season, but have seen their advantage disappear as their rivals have brought major developments to their cars.

Kimi Antonelli admitted after the Dutch Grand Prix that Mercedes are no longer the fastest car on the grid, with McLaren's recent upgrade package helping Lando Norris claim back-to-back victories in Hungary and Zandvoort.

Wolff has now revealed that Mercedes have deliberately spread their development budget across the season, meaning they cannot simply respond to every upgrade introduced by their rivals.

"We haven't got the money to put developments on the car," Wolff told the media including GPblog. "I said 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. But we just can't do what we can't do.

"That's why it is a development race. If you bring an upgrade, each of the top teams will have a couple of tenths in it, at least, and that's what you lose. So, yeah, the ride has been a bit tougher than at the beginning of the year."

When asked why McLaren and Ferrari have been able to bring upgrades, Wolff added: "Well, you will see towards the end of the season whether they are 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 the middle of the year than towards the end."

The Mercedes team principal is not overly worried about Lando Norris's surge in the world championship, despite the McLaren driver's second straight win, pointing out to Max Verstappen as a reason why.

After Wolff was reminded of the comeback Max Verstappen mounted last year from an even bigger deficit. Wolff hit back immediately, saying: "Max didn’t win the championship."

Norris has a long way to go if he is to close the 83-point gap to Antonelli at the top of the standings and win his second straight drivers' championship.