George Russell has suggested F1 teams could “pay the price” later in the season for their aggressive approach to car development.
Mercedes emerged as the benchmark at the start of F1’s new regulation cycle this year with fresh power units and aerodynamic rules coming into play.
As its rivals sought to close the gap, many adopted aggressive development programmes, while Mercedes has also continued to bring updates to its car.
The Brackley-based squad has won seven of the first eight grands prix this season, with Ferrari ending its winning run in Barcelona.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff recently admitted he was surprised by the volume of upgrades the Italian outfit has introduced in recent races, a sentiment echoed by Russell.
“The car has been extremely consistent every single race so far,” Russell told media including RacingNews365.
“We have been surprised at how many upgrades some teams are bringing. Maybe they’ll pay the price towards the end of the season.”
Russell’s comments refer to the financial constraints imposed by F1’s budget cap, with teams facing severe penalties for exceeding the spending limit.
As Mercedes looks to maintain its position at the front of the field, Russell insisted the team will not rush into a decision over when to introduce its next major upgrade package.
“We know what we’re planning [with] our upgrades. It’s not this side of the break.
“Then we can just review during the summer break, if we pull the trigger slightly earlier on those upgrades or not.
“So it’s just a balancing act, but as Toto said me, we have been a bit surprised with how many that some other teams have brought.”