McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andrea Stella is sceptical about his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff's claims that Mercedes doesn't have the available budget to fast-track car upgrades. In recent weeks Ferrari and especially McLaren have made drastic improvements to their 2026 cars, allowing them to take two wins apiece and put significant pressure on the erstwhile dominant Mercedes team.

Compared to its rivals, Mercedes has only trickled out a minimal quantity of aero upgrades, planning to bring a bigger package to October's Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia. That delay exposes Mercedes to further damage over the next three September rounds in Italy, Spain and Azerbaijan.

When asked by Autosport after the Dutch Grand Prix if those development decisions are now starting to become increasingly uncomfortable, Wolff said his team's hands are tied with how Brackley has partitioned its $215m cost cap allowance. "We haven't got the money to put developments on the car," he said.

Stella was sceptical because the changes to the 2027 power unit regulations come with an additional $3m cost cap allowance to be used in 2026 or 2027. "All teams will have an allowance in their reporting for the cost cap," Stella said. "I'm sure that Mercedes, having seen that their rivals are kind of elevating the game, I'm sure they will now cash in on their development that surely is happening in the ground."