Ferrari was forced into halting development on its 2022 Formula 1 car as it "couldn't afford" new upgrades, according to boss Mattia Binotto. The team started the season with the quickest package, but have fallen back from runaway leaders Red Bull after winning two of the opening three races. Since the Austrian Grand Prix in July, Ferrari have not won a race as a potential title challenge has morphed into a fight for second with Mercedes in the Constructors' Championship. However, while the eight-time champions have been developing their car to try and mask the problems with it, Binotto has revealed that their development tap was switched off as the budget cap struck.
Binotto on budget cap
"It was not a choice; we simply finished the money for the budget cap," he explained when asked by RacingNews365.com if they would have continued development if they knew Mercedes would improve. "So, simply, we were at the cap. "[There was] no more opportunity of developing the car, so we simply [had to] stick where we were." While the 2022 F1-75 has been frozen, Binotto was firm in saying that this has had no impact on the 2023 machine which is currently under development in Maranello. "Obviously we didn't compromise next year's car development," he added. "But we decided to stop [developing] the current one because of this normal development on the car, you will need to produce the parts to bring them onto the track. "Those were the extra costs that we couldn't afford."
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