F1 News: Mercedes Fears Breach Of Cost Cap Following George Russell Crash

Saajan Jogia | Oct 29, 2024

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Crewmembers of the Mercedes driver George Russell (63) cool the car on the grid before the F1 Sprint Race at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images / John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed that the team fears exceeding the $135 million cost cap limit after George Russell's Mexican Grand Prix qualifying crash, which destroyed his upgrade package and forced him to revert to the Silverstone-spec W15. As a result, the team boss stressed that Mercedes will need to be innovative in utilizing the new upgrades on the car.

What added to the problem was Andrea Kimi Antonelli's crash from the first free practice session in Monza, which caused significant damage to Russell's car. The F2 driver is set to take over Lewis Hamilton's seat next year when the seven-time world champion moves to Ferrari. A few weeks later, the incident in Austin destroyed Russell's new floor, forcing him to revert to the previous version. Fortunately, the British driver is expected to receive the updated floor for the upcoming race in Brazil.

Wolff explained that Russell's US and Mexican Grands Prix crashes dealt a major setback due to the extensive new parts required for repairs. Consequently, Mercedes will only bring two new floors for the São Paulo Grand Prix this weekend, as adding any more parts would mean pushing over the stipulated limit. He told the media after the Mexico City GP:

“I love a driver to push and I’d rather crash him and we know what the car is capable of doing than not.

“The cost cap plan nevertheless is a tricky situation. So these three chunks put us on a back foot. Certainly, the one that happened before yesterday was massive.

“We had to change, we had to opt for a completely new chassis. There is a tremendous hit in the cost cap and we probably have to dial down on what we put on the car.

“So we’ll be having two upgrade packages in Brazil. Two floors but that’s basically, there’s nothing else that’s going to come.

“We have certain limitation on parts where we need to be creative.

“Are we managing this? Certainly there is an impact on how many development parts we can put on the car because the answer is zero.”

Amid reports that Hamilton will switch back to the old floor on his W15 given his comfort level with the older package, it could be only Russell who will run the new floor. Wolff revealed that he was open to drivers' preferences. He said:

“I’m always open-minded about what the drivers think.

“If I’m certain that George is going to go for the new and Lewis may want to back-to-back the old floor in Brazil, we will certainly talk with him about his preferences.”

Despite the cost cap woes, Wolff is confident he won't have to interfere if both Mercedes drivers indulge in close battles on track, as seen last weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. He added:

“They are so good and so experienced that we allow the racing.

“At the beginning, I have no doubt. There was not a feeling where I thought it’s getting [a[ bit hairy.

“I think we made the call to George where it was clear that Lewis had the faster car.

“Maybe that one defence [from Russell] on the straight was a bit of a late move. I don’t have any doubts about that.”