Ferrari's upgrade raises questions regarding the budget cap.

      "In my view, they are close to exhausting their budget."

      Ferrari's development strategy is prompting new inquiries from competing teams regarding the Italian squad's adherence to Formula 1's budget cap. After Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz expressed surprise at the quantity of upgrades brought in by the top teams, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has now specifically highlighted Ferrari. "We’re somewhat astonished that Ferrari can implement such significant upgrades to the car as they do," he remarked. "In my view, they’re nearing their budget limit because we cannot keep up with it. We simply don’t have the financial flexibility to introduce as many components as they do."

      Ferrari rolled out the initial phase of its ADUO engine enhancement in Austria, contributing to an already aggressive development schedule. "I hope this situation alters by season's end when they can no longer introduce any additional parts," Wolff added. "Logically, this should occur. Because the only team that hasn’t reduced their pace is Ferrari. "Between McLaren, Red Bull, and ourselves, it's clear that we made one significant update, which we deployed in Montreal. We’ve had minor additions in between. "I believe it’s similar for Red Bull and McLaren. It’s just that Ferrari’s capacity in this area seems boundless. Additionally, they were already prepared with the new engine. "Thus, they must have begun their development six months ago."

      Nonetheless, Ferrari asserts that it remains significantly behind Mercedes concerning engine performance despite the new ADUO package. "We must continue to work extremely diligently to get the next upgrade on the car as swiftly as possible," Lewis Hamilton stated. "When you’re competing against Mercedes, it feels like we’re not just lacking power. It’s more about maintaining energy throughout the entire lap. "Mercedes appears to have an edge there. That’s precisely what we need to enhance." Hamilton further noted, "On Friday, we were losing six tenths on the straights." "I can’t say whether the gap can be closed within a season. We may see progress later, but we have some challenging races ahead, such as Silverstone with its long straights."

      Team principal Frederic Vasseur also called for patience. "In terms of the engine, we’ve been at a disadvantage since the season began," he mentioned. "We knew and are aware that this is our current reality. "Even with the ADUO, you can’t expect a magic solution that resolves everything instantly. We will improve, but it will take time, and with the engine, it requires even more." In fact, Ferrari’s promising win in Barcelona was succeeded by a tougher weekend in Austria, where Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were unable to keep pace with the frontrunners. "We lacked the speed required to contend with Mercedes and Max Verstappen," Vasseur conceded after the Austrian GP on Sunday. However, Leclerc believes that Ferrari's upgrades were not the issue. "In Barcelona, we were arguably one of the strongest cars - the updates we brought were effective," he said. "I don’t feel that the updates were the problem this weekend. "These cars are quite sensitive. If the setup isn’t optimal, you pay a steep price."