Mercedes boss feels 'reputational damage' will do more harm to Red Bull than financial penalty after cost cap breach

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes that in today's world, the F1 cost cap breach will cause Red Bull more reputational damage than financial. The Austrian team was found guilty of overspending in 2021 and has received a financial and sporting penalty for 2023.

The Mercedes lead, while speaking to Motorsport, claimed that no team would like reputational damage in the current transparent world. He said:

"I think that the sum of the penalties is a deterrent, the sporting penalty, and to a lesser degree, the financial fine. But reputational damage that is happening is probably the biggest thing, and no team will want to come anywhere near that, because obviously, we are living in a transparent and compliant world. Our shareholders or our partners demand compliance, and in that respect that's just not on anymore."

Wolff further complimented the FIA's work in handling the breach. He believed that "nothing was brushed under the carpet", saying:

"What I take as a positive is the strong governance. Nothing was brushed under the carpet. The FIA stood by the process. And I think that although the administration has only been in place for 10 months, it's very encouraging to see things executed."

Red Bull has received a 10% reduction in their aero testing and was charged a fine of $7 million. Notably, as the winner of the 2022 constructors' championship, the team was anyway set to face limitations with their wind tunnel time. Further reductions are bound to hamper their 2023 F1 season even more.

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Mercedes boss announces fundamental changes in the W14 after a disappointing 2022 season

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has claimed that next year's car, the W14, will go through some drastic changes. The Austrian has admitted that the W13's concept was not exactly their most successful idea.

While speaking to the media, Wolff revealed that the car might not look very different but will have a different "DNA". He said:

"The DNA of the car is going to change for next year, that's clear. It doesn't necessarily mean that our bodywork is going to look very different. But certainly what is part of the DNA of the car, the architecture of the car, will change for next year."

For the first time in 11 years, Mercedes has struggled for a win all season long. The outfit came close to winning several times, but simply lacked the pace to snatch the top step of the podium.

In fact, the team is almost six months behind Red Bull and Ferrari in terms of development. They currently face a baked-in fundamental problem with the car that will need to be deleted in the W14.