Mercedes says he can't afford to develop an F1 car. Why?

A Mercedes has had the rise in the 2026 season of Formula 1with Andrea Kimi Antonelli leading with the highest number of wins. But there is no way to keep pace with the development of rival teams at this stage of the year.

Everything is due to lack of money, without the problem being a financial crisis: is that there is a budget ceiling of $215 million to be met, with each team having their own strategy on how to distribute spending throughout the year within that limit.

And that's where Mercedes's lack of responsiveness comes from right now, according to executive director and team leader Toto Wolff. Since May there have been no significant news in the W17.

Cited by the website Motorsport, the leader explained the situation: “We can't afford to put developments in the car. I said before that we're trying to divide it evenly throughout the season based on our calculations of when we can introduce the biggest updates and optimize the points in the championship. But simply we can't do what we can't do“.

Mercedes should not introduce significant updates to the single place before October in the Bahrain GP (which, remember, is disputed in Malaysia). And Toto Wolff recalled that there are different investment strategies: “They will see at the end of the season if they will be able to put as many things in the car as now. Someone may have a different strategy to spend more in the beginning and middle of the season than in the final part”.

Strong entry, but rivals approaching

The season began with a grand entrance to Mercedes, which proved strong and dominating: won the first six rounds of the season to isolate itself at the top of the championships. But in the meantime, rivals show signs of recovery – both Ferrari and McLaren, which already account for two triumphs each. Woking's formation dominated the last two rounds with Lando Norris, in which Mercedes had no arguments for the triumph.

It is certain that, despite losing points with reliability problems resulting in abandonment, mercedes continues to be competitive and consistent in the fight for podiums – which may be fundamental in view of the punctual advantage it has, although penalties are expected in starting grids for exceeding the maximum number of components allowed. For now, Andrea Kimi Antonelli leads with 59 more points than Mr Russell and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) and mercedes has 87 points of advance among the builders.