Remember the start of the 2023 season? The Ferrari looked unbeatable, but then Red Bull brought massive upgrades and finished the season well clear of the others. Unfortunately, the Austrian team ended up breaching the cost cap. As Mercedes tries a Red Bull-esque 2022 catch-up plan, suspicion over breaching the $135 Million ceiling looms over their head. Amid all this, McLaren Boss made a shocking confession regarding the development of the MCL60. What did the McLaren boss say?

Mercedes arrived with new upgrades for the Monaco GP. The Silver Arrows took a significant step in performance with these upgrades and are expected to bring two major upgrades in the upcoming races. Nevertheless, the upgraded car brought to Monaco was so different that it looked like a B Spec car. As a result of these major changes and upcoming upgrades, questions have been raised about Mercedes breaching the $135 Million cost cap. 

As Lewis Hamilton and Co. drew suspicion over the cost cap breach, Andrea Stella revealed a fact about the upgraded MCL60. McLaren was arguably the slowest car at the start of the season. Stella explained how his team realized that the car wasn’t fundamentally great and hence a redesign of all the aerodynamic parts was undertaken. Stella suggests that the car would look significantly different as almost the entire car will be new. 

According to Motorsportweek.com, Andrea Stell said, “Well, relatively soon, at the start of the season, we realized that the car needed a fundamental redesign so this redesign is actually interesting, I would say, pretty much every single aerodynamic part, that’s why the upgrades will be spread over the course of a few races. It will be decently noticeable. We had to redesign even some parts under the bodywork. That’s also why it took some time to be in condition to deliver these upgrades. So I would say pretty much the entire car.”

Read More: “Stronger Than Mercedes”: Architect of Fernando Alonso’s Success Lauds Aston Martin as Lawrence Stroll & Co. Catch Up to Red Bull

While Toto Wolff and Co. were put under suspicion for breaching the cost cap because of the major upgrades and plans, McLaren Boss’ claims suggest they are technically building a whole new aerodynamic package for the car. If McLaren can do this without breaching the cost cap, Mercedes can surely bring the upgrades while still complying. 

Toto Wolff is confident about staying under the cost cap. 

Red Bull’s breach of the cost cap last year had major repercussions. The team was given a 10% aerodynamic test time penalty and a $7,000,000 fine. Since then, the team has been even more vigilant about the cost cap, closely monitoring all aspects. Toto Wolff suggested that he has assembled a team to monitor all the aspects around the cost cap. Wolff confirmed that the Silver Arrows stayed under the cost cap last year and the same has been the case for 2023.

According to Firstsportz.com, Toto Wolff said, “We have set up a huge organization in our financial department of 46 people, that monitors the cost cap down to the last screw. We stayed below that line all year last year, and we’ve stayed below that line this year. Considering a normal development switch for next year, this is still pretty much on track.”

Watch this Story: How 10-year-old friendship between Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff is coming in the way of $35 million worth contract renewal

Do you think that any team will be found guilty of breaking the cost cap?