Mercedes Formula 1 team principal Toto Wolff admits his squad "hasn't got the money" to match the aggressive 2026 development pace of Mc Laren and Ferrari. Both rivals have turned into multiple race winners through significant upgrade pushes, while Mercedes has introduced little since the Canadian Grand Prix in May. After Lando Norris secured his second consecutive 2026 win at Zandvoort, Wolff explained that Mercedes is constrained by its $215m cost cap allocation strategy.

"We haven't got the money to put developments on the car," the Austrian said. "We are trying to evenly split that through the season... But we just can't do what we can't do." He suggested rivals might be front-loading spending, noting: "You will see towards the end of the season whether they are going to be able to deploy as much stuff."

Mercedes expects no major W17 upgrades until the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia in early October. Wolff added that power unit reliability issues have cost Kimi Antonelli and George Russell 50-100 points, which would have provided a larger championship buffer. He insisted the team's initial development spend was justified given its organisational infrastructure.