Budget cap controversy: FIA scrutinizes top teams' non-F1 activities
Jun.23 - Mercedes claims it may be just a single upgrade package away from victory in 2023.
Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher said after the Canadian GP that he thinks Aston Martin is currently "a tad ahead of Mercedes with these improvements".
Indeed, Aston Martin unveiled a major upgrade recently, prompting Schumacher to predict that Fernando Alonso "will be Max Verstappen's toughest competitor at the Red Bull Ring" next weekend.
Mercedes, though, insists it is also closing in on Red Bull's dominance, with boss Toto Wolff claiming Montreal was a tough test for the 'B' car package.
"I am no longer afraid of the next circuits that are coming up," he told Auto Motor und Sport.
And an unnamed Mercedes engineer also told the German magazine: "We're only one upgrade away from victory."
Wolff announced that those upgrades are now in the pipeline.
"A big one in Silverstone," he said, "and a smaller one after that.
"We've learned a lot since we changed the concept of the car," the Austrian added. "The correlation between simulation and the race track has improved a lot so we're now implementing step by step."
However, some are wondering how Mercedes and others are managing to so significantly upgrade their cars mid-season within the confines of the budget cap.
La Gazzetta dello Sport claims the FIA is currently taking a close look at whether the top teams' non-F1 activities - including the design of boats, bikes and road cars - have created loopholes in the strict budget cap rules.
"There was a request for clarification for Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and Aston Martin," reported correspondent Louis Perna.
Wolff says he isn't worried about Mercedes breaching the cap - as Red Bull was found to have done in 2021.
"We have 46 people controlling all of our expenses, down to the last screw," insisted Wolff.
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The EU-centric FIA is down-by-the-head with bureaucrats who have far too much free time on their hands. Lets not help the teams navigate the thousands of pages of regulations - oh, no! Our army of subject-specific inspectors will lurk about in the paddock on race weekends; we'll do snap-inspections at points of manufacture and testing; eaves-drop on conversations in posh restaurants. And should we get a whiff of non-conformance we will rain Hell down on the transgressor in a Climax of Smiting righteousness. All this to ensure a fair and level playing field. Meanwhile, we will double-down on Diversity and Sensitivity training for our Race Stewards to ensure that rational penalties will be given for any un-safe releases in the pit-lane and of course following the Safety Car too slowly. Truth is stranger than fiction.
Great rant. Way too much emphasis on admin and creating "committees" to study the issues. The only issue should be build a car, get a driver and go racing.
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