Daily News 19

Tag: F1 cost cap

  • McLaren Tipped to Become Mercedes’ Main Rival by the End of the 2026 F1 Season

    McLaren Tipped to Become Mercedes’ Main Rival by the End of the 2026 F1 Season

    Former Alpine Formula 1 team principal Otmar Szafnauer expects McLaren to emerge as Mercedes’ closest rival by the end of the 2026 season.

    Speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast with broadcaster Jake Humphrey, Szafnauer discussed the changing competitive order at the front of the Formula 1 grid after Lando Norris secured consecutive victories at the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix.

    McLaren upgrades could transform the F1 title fight

    McLaren has introduced significant upgrades at recent races. With the team’s development package now fully integrated ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Szafnauer believes the Woking-based outfit can overtake Ferrari in the constructors’ championship and mount a stronger challenge to Mercedes.

    “Monza will be very important because [McLaren] brought an upgrade that did work in Hungary. I think they continued with that upgrade from what I read in Zandvoort, and now the upgrade’s complete. Let’s see how they go in Monza,” Szafnauer explained.

    “I still think they’re going to be Mercedes’ closest competitor at the end of the season. I said that at the beginning, but it seemed like it was Ferrari. And I think it’s ebbing and flowing, the relative performance due to the fact that not all of the upgrades are coming at the same time, and the upgrades are significant.

    “In a year where the regulations are new, you find a lot, right? So your learning curve is very steep. So when you bring that upgrade relative to those who haven’t, you make a step. And I think we saw that with Alpine as well. After Racing Bulls had their upgrade, they were significantly quicker than Alpine. It looked like they were going to get them. And now they’re there or thereabouts.”

    Lando Norris, McLaren. Photo by Eric Le Galliot.

    Mercedes upgrades limited by the cost cap

    Szafnauer also addressed why constructors’ championship leader Mercedes has spread its upgrades across the season instead of introducing new components more frequently. He attributed the team’s cautious approach to Formula 1’s cost cap.

    “Cost cap. They have upgrades now that they could bring, but once you start making those parts, it costs you, and they’ll go over the cap,” he said. “So what they’re going to do, my guess is, one more upgrade, Malaysia/Singapore timeframe.

    “That doesn’t mean the learning stops. The learning continues in the background. You’re still doing CFD work. You’re still doing wind tunnel work. You’re still making wind tunnel parts. All that’s planned.

    “It’s just a question of when you stop to actually bring that upgrade package. And that’s where the money is. When you make realised car parts, they cost: new wings, new floors, new bodywork. And I predict they’ll have one more big upgrade as opposed to a lot of little ones because they can’t afford it. They’re at the cap.”

  • Andrea Stella Challenges Mercedes’ Claim It Can’t Afford F1 Upgrades: “I actually don’t believe you”

    Andrea Stella Challenges Mercedes’ Claim It Can’t Afford F1 Upgrades: “I actually don’t believe you”

    McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andrea Stella has dismissed Toto Wolff’s claim that Mercedes lacks the budget to accelerate its car development programme.

    Ferrari and McLaren have made major gains with their 2026 cars in recent weeks. Both teams have taken two victories, increasing the pressure on Mercedes after its earlier dominance.

    Mercedes delays major F1 upgrade package

    Mercedes has introduced only a limited number of aerodynamic upgrades compared with its rivals. The team is instead planning to bring a larger package to the October Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

    The delay could leave Mercedes vulnerable during the next three September races in Italy, Spain and Azerbaijan. Asked by Motosport.com after the Dutch Grand Prix whether the development strategy was becoming more difficult to justify amid McLaren’s rapid progress, Wolff said Mercedes was constrained by how its Brackley operation had allocated its $215m cost-cap allowance.

    “We haven’t got the money to put developments on the car. 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,” the Austrian said.

    “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.”

    When asked about Wolff’s comments, McLaren chief Stella expressed strong doubts about Mercedes’ financial explanation.

    “I would like to believe you, but I actually don’t believe you.”

    Andrea Stella cast doubt on Mercedes’ claims

    Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

    McLaren points to additional 2026 cost-cap allowance

    Stella’s scepticism relates partly to changes in the 2027 power-unit regulations. The rules will move Formula 1 towards a 57-43 split between combustion power and electrical energy, while also affecting specific areas of car design.

    Teams have been granted an additional $3m cost-cap allowance that can be used in their 2026 or 2027 reporting to prepare for those changes. Stella said Mercedes could use that allowance to manufacture upgraded car components if it chose to do so.

    “All teams will have an allowance in their reporting for the cost cap,” Stella said. “And if I’m not wrong, it’s like three million that you can use in the 2026 reporting for cost cap calculations. And 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.

    “I’m sure the 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 about it…”