Racing
© fuji.tim
After the Monaco Grand Prix, the FIA identified Red Bull Powertrains as Formula 1’s benchmark 2026 internal combustion engine under the new ADUO system, prompting Red Bull to ask for a review of the data and methodology behind a result that could hand Mercedes extra upgrade freedom.
The FIA’s communication to manufacturers placed Mercedes more than 2% behind Red Bull on internal combustion engine performance. Under ADUO, that would give Mercedes one homologation upgrade. Ferrari, Audi and Honda were assessed as at least 4% behind the benchmark, which would make them eligible for two upgrades.
That outcome has caused immediate tension because the ADUO index looks only at the internal combustion engine, not the full power unit. At the same time, any manufacturer that qualifies for ADUO can use those upgrade opportunities on electrical components as well, including areas such as the battery and MGU-K. That has left Red Bull questioning how a ranking based on only one part of the package can open development across the wider system.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull driver, said the team had not expected the FIA’s conclusion. “We were all a little bit surprised with that news,” Verstappen said in Barcelona. “I guess that's why we're talking to the FIA now to see what happened there, how they came to that conclusion.” He added that Red Bull was “a bit confused with suddenly being portrayed as the best because we don't feel like that.”
The basis for the current method was set much earlier. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said the governing body discussed broader metrics with power-unit manufacturers in spring 2025, including “turbo pressures,” “turbo diameters,” and “plenum temperature.” But he said the manufacturers’ “universal position” was to “keep it simple” and rely on the “current horsepower measurement of the internal combustion.”
Mercedes, for its part, has backed the FIA’s process. Team principal Toto Wolff said the classification came from measured data gathered through the FIA’s sensors, not politics, and accepted that Mercedes now has work to do on the combustion side if that is where the deficit has been identified.
The FIA said in Barcelona that it had begun checking all sensors and data the previous Monday and expected that verification process to take seven to 10 days. For now, the review is being framed as a validation step rather than a sign that the original ranking will necessarily be overturned, but the outcome will decide whether Red Bull remains the benchmark that cannot upgrade while its rivals are allowed to close in.