Mercedes tackles F1 budget cap with new division

(GMM) A new division at Mercedes was set up to help the Formula 1 team tackle the new budget cap.

At Ferrari, moves to support customer team Haas at Maranello and kick off a works Le Mans program for 2023 have been seen as ways to get under the budget limit without sacking staff.

When asked if Mercedes might also enter the world endurance championship, team boss Toto Wolff is quoted by Italy’s Autosprint: “At the moment that is not planned.”

However, he did admit that Mercedes’ Formula E team is a “breeding ground for business and a port of destination” for redundant Formula 1 staff.

Another staff destination is the recently-inaugurated ‘Applied Science’ division at Brackley, which Wolff says will work on projects including “the America’s Cup, the Tour de France and various high-performance projects”.

“We are quite busy,” he smiled.

Wolff said the budget cap is having “a big impact” on Mercedes, “but it also gave us the opportunity to rethink our company”, he is also quoted by Speed Week.

“That’s why we founded our Applied Science department in order to bring Formula 1 knowledge to many different customers in this way. It will play an important role in our company,” he added.