Red Bull seeks clarification from the FIA: ADUO engine assessment could change the development race in Formula 1
Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull has found itself in an unusual situation: according to the initial findings of the FIA's assessment in the ADUO system, the Red Bull-Ford power unit has been marked as the benchmark in the ranking of internal combustion engines. Such an outcome, if the governing motorsport federation confirms it in its current form, would mean that the Milton Keynes team remains without an additional homologation upgrade, while Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi and Honda would receive development room to reduce the gap. According to a document published and interpreted by Sky Sports News, Mercedes would receive one upgrade opportunity in that allocation, while Ferrari, Audi and Honda would receive two each, because they were assessed as being farther from the reference value. The FIA, according to available information from the paddock, is still holding talks with the manufacturers and has not publicly released the full final table, which is why the entire case has turned into one of the more important technical-political topics at the beginning of the new era of power units.
The dispute is particularly sensitive because ADUO does not measure the overall speed of the car nor the total power of the power unit, but rather the performance index of the internal combustion engine. In its official explanation, the FIA states that data such as torque on the input shaft, engine speed, MGU-K system power and a weighting factor showing how important engine power is for lap time on the measured sections are taken into account. The federation has emphasized that ADUO is not a classic balance of performance: it does not bring higher permitted fuel consumption, a change in car mass or a direct sporting advantage, but rather limited development and financial relief within the technical regulations. Still, in practice such a possibility could have great value, especially in a season in which the engines are completely new and in which small differences in efficiency can quickly translate into the order at the top.
Why Red Bull is dissatisfied with the initial assessment
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies does not dispute the basic principle of ADUO, but claims that his team's internal data do not confirm the FIA's initial picture. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said that Red Bull accepts the fact that the rules require an assessment of the order only in the power part of the internal combustion engine, but added that the team does not see any data sample that would show their advantage over Mercedes. A similar message was also conveyed by Autosport, stating that Red Bull is asking the FIA for additional checks of sensors, input data and methodology before the decision becomes operationally decisive for the development of the season. For Red Bull, the problem is that confirmation of the findings would limit its own development and open the way for rivals to improve their power units.
Mekies, according to Sky Sports, said that Red Bull had opened a constructive dialogue with the FIA so that the regulator could obtain the complete picture. His objection is primarily aimed at the reliability of the measurements, because this is a complex attempt to isolate the performance of one part of the power unit from cars that differ in aerodynamics, cooling, settings and the way electrical energy is used. In its own explanation of ADUO, the FIA had already warned that some external factors, such as fluid temperatures and aerodynamic effects, are recorded as part of the measurements on the car and that no special correction methodology is envisaged for them. That is why Red Bull's request is more than a routine political reaction: it is a question of whether the index can precisely enough separate the raw power of the engine from the overall concept of the car.
How ADUO works and why it is not a simple punishment for the fastest
ADUO stands for Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities. According to the FIA's official explanation, the system was introduced for the period of the new rules from 2026 to 2030 so that power unit manufacturers who are significantly behind the best internal combustion engine would receive a limited opportunity to develop the homologated specification. The threshold is set so that a manufacturer that is at least two percent behind the reference engine can receive ADUO. If the gap is between two and four percent, the manufacturer receives one additional homologation upgrade in the current season and one for the following season, while a gap of at least four percent brings two upgrades in the current season and two in the following season.
The FIA states that a manufacturer trailing by between two and four percent can receive up to three million US dollars of permitted development outside the usual calculation of the power unit cost cap. Larger deficits bring greater relief, and manufacturers with a deficit of ten percent or more can, according to the FIA's interpretation, receive up to eleven million dollars per ADUO period, with a special option for 2026 to use part of the future cost cap in advance. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis described ADUO as relief within the cost cap, not as a magical solution that automatically turns a weaker engine into a winning one. In this way, the FIA is trying to maintain a balance between preventing a long-term technical deficit and preserving the principle that the manufacturer must still develop the best power unit itself.
In practice, however, the difference between regulatory relief and a competitive advantage is not always clearly visible. In the official rules, the FIA emphasizes that qualification for ADUO is based on the internal combustion engine, but the permitted upgrades can cover a broader set of power unit components. According to the FIA's list, the permitted scope can include ICE elements, the exhaust system, the turbocharger, sensors, ERS and cooling parts, the MGU-K, control electronics and certain hydraulic functions. This is important because a manufacturer can be assessed on the basis of one segment and then use the approved development opportunity on parts that affect the broader picture of performance, reliability and energy management.
Red Bull-Ford as the benchmark and an unpleasant consequence for its own project
Red Bull-Ford's position is particularly interesting because this is Red Bull's first in-house power unit project in Formula 1. Red Bull Ford Powertrains states on its official website that since February 2023 it has been developing, together with Ford Racing, a power unit for the 2026 season, intended for the Oracle Red Bull Racing and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls teams. Ford brings experience in hybrid systems, batteries, control systems and the supply chain to the partnership, while Red Bull is for the first time in the modern era trying to fully connect its own chassis and engine programme. That is why the FIA's initial calculation, which places Red Bull-Ford at the top of the ICE ranking, looks on paper like confirmation of success, but for the team it may have the opposite short-term effect.
If Red Bull really remains the reference manufacturer, it will not receive an additional development token in the first ADUO cycle. According to Sky Sports, all other manufacturers in the initial allocation were marked as eligible for upgrades, and that includes Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi and Honda. This could make Red Bull the only manufacturer without an additional homologation opportunity at a moment when competitors are still adapting to the new rules and searching for weaknesses in their first specifications. For a team that does not see a measurable advantage over Mercedes, such an allocation opens the risk of a defensive position in the development race.
This paradox explains why Red Bull's reaction cannot be reduced to a rejection of regulatory equality. If their internal combustion engine really is the strongest, the FIA's system is functioning exactly as intended: it helps those who are behind the best ICE. But if the index does not reflect the real relative power, or if the difference is the result of measurement circumstances, Red Bull could be deprived of a development opportunity on the basis of a picture the team considers wrong. That is exactly why Mekies insists on further discussion, not on destroying ADUO as a concept.
Why results on track do not settle the debate
One reason for the confusion in the paddock is that race results do not show a simple dominance of Red Bull-Ford. Sky Sports stated that the outcome of the ADUO assessment surprised Red Bull and some rivals because Mercedes showed strong competitive strength in the first part of the season, and Max Verstappen said during the weekend for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix that he was surprised by the ranking. But car results depend on a much broader set of factors: aerodynamic efficiency, mechanical grip, cooling, tyre degradation, strategy, the ability to use electrical energy and the way the engine is integrated into the chassis. The FIA therefore emphasized in its explanation of ADUO that the ICE assessment is not a display of the overall performance of the power unit, because ERS plays a key role in the final delivery of power.
The new rules for 2026 further complicate such an assessment. Formula 1 and the FIA previously explained that the new power units retained the 1.6-litre V6 turbo-hybrid concept, but with a much stronger electrical component. According to Formula 1's official explanation of the regulations, the electrical part increased from 120 kW to 350 kW, while the power of the internal combustion part was reduced to around 400 kW, with greater emphasis on energy recovery and sustainable fuels. This means that the strongest internal combustion engine does not necessarily have to be the best overall power unit on every type of track. A team that uses the battery, MGU-K, cooling and energy deployment more efficiently can be faster in a race even if it is not at the top of the FIA's ADUO index.
That is why the Austrian weekend is important more as context than as final proof. The Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, according to Formula 1's official description, has a short lap, three straights in the first part of the track and uphill right-hand corners that reward power. The race takes place from 26 to 28 June 2026, and it comes at a moment when the manufacturers and the FIA are still discussing the consequences of the first ADUO assessment. If Red Bull-Ford proves particularly strong on the straights at such a track, critics of the initial FIA table could have fewer arguments. If, however, Mercedes or Ferrari cars again show a clearer overall advantage, Red Bull will probably insist even more strongly that ADUO must not create a development imbalance based on an overly narrow interpretation of the data.
What could happen if the FIA confirms the initial findings
If the FIA confirms the initial ranking in unchanged form, the consequences will be concrete. According to Sky Sports, Mercedes would receive one upgrade opportunity in 2026 and one for 2027, while Ferrari, Audi and Honda would receive two each in 2026 and two each for the following season. In its official explanation, the FIA states that approved upgrades are not added together within the same season if a manufacturer becomes eligible again in a later period, but that opportunities for the following season can be used if they are allocated according to the rules. Also, an unused upgrade for the season in which it was approved expires if it is not introduced by the end of that season. This gives manufacturers a reason to quickly assess whether it is worth spending a token immediately or saving it for a later development package.
For Red Bull, the most unpleasant scenario is the one in which rivals use additional opportunities while the team has to wait for the next relevant assessment without the right to the same flexibility. Autosport warned that Mercedes could theoretically choose the timing or area of an upgrade strategically, while Red Bull would remain bound to the existing homologation and at the same time retain the status of reference ICE in the FIA's calculation. Such a development could have the effect of a chess stalemate: Red Bull would on paper be the best in the segment being measured, but competitors would have greater freedom to improve the wider power unit. Considering that the new generation of engines is only just stabilizing, even one successful development intervention could be significant in the fight for qualifying positions, energy consumption and reliability in the race.
Ferrari, Audi and Honda have a different interest. For them, ADUO was designed as a safety valve in case the new regulations produce excessive differences already in the first season. Ferrari could address power unit weaknesses more quickly, Audi as a new works project could make up part of the initial deficit, and Honda, now linked with Aston Martin, could accelerate its adaptation in the new hybrid configuration. Mercedes is the most interesting case because it is often mentioned in public debates as an overall very strong package, yet according to the initial ADUO assessment it would still receive one additional opportunity. It is precisely this combination of sporting success and regulatory eligibility that is the reason why Red Bull is seeking additional confidence in the data.
A technical question with political weight
The debate about ADUO shows how much the new rules have changed the balance of power in Formula 1. In previous regulatory cycles, manufacturers could suffer for years from the consequences of a weaker initial concept, especially after major engine changes. The FIA is now trying to avoid a repeat of a scenario in which one manufacturer gains an advantage that rivals cannot catch because of homologation and cost restrictions. On the other hand, Formula 1 is still based on rewarding technical excellence, so any system that allows additional development opportunities to only some manufacturers inevitably raises the question of the boundary between correcting an imbalance and punishing those who got the concept right.
That is why the FIA's final decision will not be important only for Red Bull. It will set the tone for how ADUO will be interpreted throughout the entire cycle until 2030, how much manufacturers will trust the performance index and whether the system will be accepted as a corrective or experienced as a source of constant disputes. For fans, this may be a technical topic hidden behind tables and sensors, but the consequences are visible on the track: in who is allowed to bring a new engine package, when they are allowed to homologate it and whether the balance of power can change. Until the completion of the FIA's review, Red Bull remains in the paradoxical position of a manufacturer that, according to the initial data, is the best precisely in the segment because of which it could lose development freedom.
Sources:
- FIA – official explanation of the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system, thresholds for upgrades, financial relief and methods of assessing ICE performance (link)
- Sky Sports – report on the FIA's initial ADUO assessment, Red Bull-Ford's status, upgrades for Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi and Honda, and Laurent Mekies' statements (link)
- Sky Sports – earlier report on the initial ranking of power unit manufacturers and the allocation of development opportunities in the first ADUO cycle (link)
- Autosport – analysis of Red Bull's challenge to the FIA's ADUO assessment and Mekies' claim that internal data show no advantage over Mercedes (link)
- Red Bull Ford Powertrains – official information on the partnership between Red Bull Powertrains and Ford Racing for the 2026 season power unit (link)
- Formula 1 – official explanation of the key features of the 2026 power units, including the stronger electrical component and sustainable fuels (link)
- Formula 1 – official page of the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix and description of the characteristics of the Red Bull Ring circuit in Spielberg (link)