Mercedes claim operating under F1's cost cap for 2022 season is 'extremely painful'

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confessed that the Silver Arrows are not having the easiest of times keeping in line with the new budgets imposed on all F1 teams.

F1 introduced a strict cost cap of $145 million that was to be adhered to by all teams in 2021. For the upcoming 2022 season, the budget has fallen to $140 million. These steps have been taken to try and make the sport more competitive and not allow richer teams to leave the rest in their wake.

When asked about the difficulties that came with the decreased cost cap, Wolff said:

“It has been very, very difficult to structure the company and the organization in the right way to meet the cost cap at $140 million. Also in a high-inflation environment, and we are reducing by five million, we have a situation where you are not able to increase the costs and the payroll. That is extremely painful.”

The 50-year-old Austrian feels the tighter purse strings have made choosing and picking their upgrades all the more important going forward. Wolff added:

“On the other side, you have to decide very carefully where you invest your dollars in R&D. In the past, it was a little bit easier because you could follow various avenues chasing performance. Today you have to decide which one has the highest potential and then embark on it so it’s a totally different way of operating for the big teams.”

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Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes keen on 'raising the bar' in F1 2022 season

Going into the 2022 F1 season, Lewis Hamilton has revealed he has no set goal for the year. The 37-year-old Briton is locked in on the ultimate goal of winning championships alongside the Silver Arrows.

During the launch event of the Mercedes-AMG F1 W13 E Performance, the seven-time world champion said:

“...Going into this year, I haven’t really set any goals. Initially, I think naturally every single individual in this team has worked towards the ultimate goal: winning the world championship and again, raising the bar and doing something no one has ever done before. We’ve done eight [constructors’ championships]. Now, we’ve got to move on to the next one.”

Meanwhile, both Hamilton and his new teammate George Russell took the W13 out for a quick shakedown around Silverstone ahead of the first pre-season practice session in Barcelona.