RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Kimi Antonelli is leading Mercedes team-mate George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton by 59 points [Getty Images]
Toto Wolff says Mercedes "haven't got the money" to develop at the same rhythm as their championship rivals.
Mercedes won the first six races this season but Ferrari and McLaren have matched them with two wins each in the subsequent six after major upgrades to their cars.
Lando Norris' victory at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday was his second in a row.
Ferrari and McLaren both introduced new parts in Zandvoort, McLaren's after a major upgrade at the previous race in Hungary.
Ferrari have also had a car upgrade in Spain in June since Mercedes introduced their last major car development at the Canadian Grand Prix, the fifth of the 12 races that have so far been held.
Wolff, Mercedes team principal, said: "We haven't got the money to put developments on account. 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 do what we can do. That's why it is a development race. If you bring an upgrade, each of the top teams will have a couple of 10ths 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."
Norris beats Antonelli to claim final Dutch GP win
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All F1 teams are subject to the same $215m (£170m) budget cap.
Challenged on the point that McLaren and Ferrari did have the money to improve their cars, Wolff replied: "You will see how towards the end of the season (whether) they are going to be able to deploy as much stuff on to 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."
Kimi Antonelli limited the damage to his championship lead with a second-place finish behind Norris in the Netherlands. He leads team-mate George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton by 59 points, and Norris by 83.
Mercedes' next major upgrade is not due until the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia in four races' time.
Before then, championship leader Antonelli is expected to take a grid penalty at the next race in Italy, his home grand prix.
Mercedes have decided that Monza, with its long straights benefiting a fresh new engine and making overtaking possible, is the optimal race to introduce a new engine that takes Antonelli over his allowance for the season.
Wolff said: "In theory, our calculations say that it's the best track to take it. Obviously, algorithms don't take the nationality into consideration. I'm not ready to fight for a championship and get the best PR. That's what we're going to do."
Mercedes are leading Ferrari by 87 points and McLaren by 162 points in the constructors' championship [Getty Images]
Rival teams have been wondering aloud why Mercedes do not seem to be able to spend the same amount of money on upgrades as them - the championship leaders have produced fewer new parts than Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull so far this year.
But McLaren team principal Andrea Stella pointed out that teams had agreed a $3m increase in the cost cap that can be spent over 2026 and 2027, and a further $3m over 2027 and 2028 as an allowance for teams because changes to the engine rules for the next two years could affect chassis design as they require the use of more fuel.
Stella said he "didn't believe" that Mercedes did not have further significant upgrades this season.
"Thanks to the 2027 power-unit regulations, all teams will have an allowance in their reporting for the cost cap," Stella said. ".
"And I'm sure that Mercedes, having seen that the 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. I'm sure their car in the wind tunnel is quite a bit faster than the car they have on track.
"And they will want to now convert some of this potential into upgrades that make it to the real car. So I'm just pretty sure that they will have upgrades. Obviously, it would be good if not, but I don't even want to think it."
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