Toto Wolff shares a tough opinion on Ferrari after their ‘surprise’ upgrades shake up Antonelli’s chance at the championship.
As Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton gets ready to chase down Kimi Antonelli’s lead at his home race in Silverstone, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Ferrari’s rapid progress might come with a big price.
Mercedes kicked off the Formula 1 season strong and got back to winning ways in Austria, where Antonelli and Russell joined Max Verstappen on the podium. Unfortunately for Ferrari, what started well ended badly because of a risky pit stop during a virtual safety car for Hamilton that didn’t pay off.
But Ferrari is back in the game after a major upgrade to their SF-26 car. They made four big changes during practice in Austria, adding to eight parts changed before the Barcelona race, plus three upgrades from Monaco. These updates caught the FIA’s eye too, leading to a detailed check of Hamilton’s car before Austria.
Ferrari has been trying out lots of new ideas this season and hopes they’ll help at Silverstone. But after just eight of 22 races, Wolff says these upgrades have really stretched their budget.
Mercedes is focused on slowing Ferrari down at Silverstone, with Russell wanting to make the most of his home advantage like Hamilton. Wolff shared with Sky Sports that while Mercedes makes small tweaks, Ferrari’s big upgrades surprise them.
He said, “We’re always bringing small improvements because it’s surprising how Ferrari keeps making such big changes. I think their budget for upgrades must be running low, because we can’t afford to keep bringing in so many parts. Hopefully, toward the end of the season, they won’t be able to bring any more parts, and we’ll have our chance.”
For 2026, each team has a cost limit of $215 million for upgrades, higher than last year because of new rules on car design.
“The only team not slowing down is Ferrari,” Wolff added. “McLaren, Red Bull, and us had some big upgrades early on, with smaller changes between. But Ferrari seems to keep going without limits. Plus, they surprised everyone by bringing a new engine early, meaning they started working on it six months ago. I hope everyone’s following the same rules.”