Ferrari team principal Vasseur rebuts Wolff's cost‑cap cheating allegation

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff questioned Ferrari’s ability to introduce large upgrade packages while staying within Formula 1’s €215 million cost cap during the Austrian Grand Prix. He said, “We’re a little bit surprised that Ferrari can throw these huge updates at the car in the way they do… they need to be running out of cost‑cap money soon.”

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur replied at the British Grand Prix, describing Wolff’s comments as “ironic” and rejecting any implication of cheating. He said, “When Red Bull is developing or when Mercedes is developing, they are genius. When we are developing, we are cheating.” Vasseur added that Ferrari has not introduced more parts than other teams and that any suggestion they overshoot the cap is “going in that direction.”

Wolff later called Vasseur “very emotional” and claimed his remarks were misunderstood, stating, “If you would have read my comments rather than just a headline, you would have seen that what I said was an observation.” The exchange has highlighted the tension between the two leading teams as they vie for performance under the new budget‑cap regulations.