F1 budget cap forced Mercedes to scrap planned Pirelli tyre test at Paul Ricard

Ferrari will take the reigning world champion’s place at the two-day wet weather tyre test which will take place at Paul Ricard - the host of the French Grand Prix.

Mercedes has already tested Pirelli's 2022 rubber, as Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas tried out the new 18-inch tyres following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last month.

Every team except Williams is set to test Pirelli's new tyres throughout the 2021 campaign, ahead of their introduction next season.

Under the new budget cap rules, teams are prohibited from spending more than $145 million, mainly covering expenditure that relates to car performance.

The budget cap excludes all marketing costs, race driver salaries and the costs of the team’s three highest-paid personnel.

Mercedes was concerned about the additional cost it would take to send mechanics to Paul Ricard for next week’s test.

Speaking in Thursday’s press conference, Wolff said: “We are trying to make the budget cap, which is not trivial and we couldn’t take the costs related to the tyre test and we wouldn’t have been able to send our mechanics on such a long journey.”

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto explained why his team has replaced Mercedes.

“As Ferrari, we always said that 2022 is somehow our priority over 2021 and testing Pirelli tyres, helping Pirelli develop the new tyres we believe is important for us,” Binotto added. 

“Luckily enough we didn’t have a crash in Imola so eventually we have some more contingency to Mercedes today, so somehow we are happy to accept and support.”