Toto Wolff has explained why Mercedes have been able to bring regular updates to their car despite a budget cap being in place. The cap was set at $140 million for the 2022 F1 season, and concerns were raised amongst the top teams earlier in the campaign about the struggles they could face in staying below this amount, particularly in light of a rise in inflation and increased freight costs. However, several outfits on the grid have continued to develop their cars on a frequent basis, leading Wolff to share an insight into how the Silver Arrows have managed this.
Wolff explains Mercedes' management of upgrades
Wolff has detailed the process that Mercedes follow in monitoring the cost of each technical development. "I can speak for us. We have a tracker with the financial engineers that keeps track of every single process and every single component that is fitted to the single-seaters," Wolff told the Italian edition of Motorsport.com . "So when we unload things from the truck, the financial engineer takes note of the value, and when it is used it is counted. "We are moving forward with the method we planned, at the beginning of the season for many reasons we didn't bring many updates, now we are moving forward with the development programme."
"Breaking the financial regulations is like breaking the technical ones"
On whether he has confidence in the FIA's control over whether teams adhere to the budget cap, Wolff emphasised how any breaking of the rules would be similar to the same being done with technical matters. "The regulation was already in place last year, and we will soon have the results that will confirm whether everyone has complied with the rules," the team boss explained. "I simply believe that it is forbidden to make mistakes, because breaking the financial regulations is like breaking the technical ones."
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