Vasseur responds to Wolff's comments on Ferrari upgrades and cost cap

Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur has responded to comments made by Toto Wolff after the Mercedes boss suggested the Scuderia must "be running out of cost cap soon" thanks to a stream of upgrades.

Wolff's comments came after the previous round in Austria, where Ferrari had once again arrived with upgrades, which included an update of its power unit.

The Italian team were unable to make the most of its new package though, failing to reach the podium with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finishing fifth and eighth respectively.

Following the Grand Prix, Wolff told F1 TV: "Ferrari have been throwing things at their car massively, I guess they will be running out of cost cap soon, because we couldn’t do it, because we simply haven’t got the margin financially. Let’s see where that leads them."

Asked about his thoughts on Wolff's comments, and how hard it was to balance bringing upgrades against the budget cap, Vassuer said: "You are referring to the comments of Toto?

"I found it quite ironic from Toto, coming from Toto and Mercedes. When Red Bull is developing or when Mercedes is developing, they are genius, when we are developing we are cheating. I think you have to calm down with this, that we didn't bring more parts than Red Bull or another team. I don't know if it was a joke."

Hamilton's victory in Barcelona – the seven-time World Champion's first for Ferrari – remains the only non-Mercedes win this season during a Grand Prix, and the Scuderia continue to be the German manufacturer's closest challengers heading to Silverstone.

Hamilton was also fastest in the sole, one-hour practice session on Friday before Sprint Qualifying, suggesting he and Ferrari will remain a thorn in Mercedes' side this weekend.

While Vasseur added that "I think it was better to avoid to speak" when asked if he had talked to Wolff about his comments, the Ferrari boss suggested it was the best practice to bring upgrades as early as possible during the season.

"I think [the] more performance you can bring at the beginning, that we are all in the same boat," he explained in the Team Representative's press conference on Friday.

"If we can bring something at the beginning we do it, and it's better to have a couple of tenths for five races than just a couple of tenths for the last two.

"Sometimes it's difficult to find performance. Sometimes you can have the feeling you're bringing a big upgrade but it is just the modification of some parts."