Racing
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Red Bull is set to receive a detailed FIA explanation of its surprise ADUO engine ranking, but the review is not expected to overturn the decision that leaves it without any power-unit upgrade opportunities.
The governing body reopened the first assessment after Red Bull challenged being placed ahead of Mercedes and Ferrari under Formula 1’s new Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system. That first judgment period ran until the Canadian Grand Prix in late May, yet there is no indication the FIA has found its original conclusion to be wrong: that Red Bull’s internal combustion engine was at least 2% clear of Mercedes.
That finding has jarred with both paddock expectation and Red Bull’s own analysis. Laurent Mekies, Red Bull team principal, said at the Barcelona Grand Prix that the team’s numbers pointed in the opposite direction. “Where we certainly would like to have a deeper conversation is because we do not see one single data sample that indicates that we would have an advantage over our friends at Mercedes,” he said.
Part of the disconnect lies in what the ADUO ranking actually measures. The FIA is assessing only the internal combustion engine, not the battery or energy-regeneration elements of the power unit. That distinction helps explain why Red Bull could top the FIA’s classification even though Mercedes had widely been viewed as the overall benchmark.
If the first-period verdict stands, Red Bull will remain the only power-unit manufacturer unable to upgrade for now while its rivals keep moving. Ferrari has already used ADUO to introduce its first performance step of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix, Audi is understood to have brought driveability improvements in Barcelona, and Honda is targeting an upgrade around the summer break, with Belgium a possible first appearance.
That is why Red Bull sees the issue as much bigger than a technical disagreement. Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Mekies warned there is “a large risk” the team could be “left behind” in the development race if competitors continue improving while Red Bull stays frozen. He said the classification has “significant impacts, both for this season and for the coming one,” and argued that a wrong assessment would carry serious ramifications for 2026 and 2027.
The pressure does not end with the first review either. The second ADUO period runs from Monaco to the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break, and Red Bull’s chances of qualifying for upgrade freedom next time may depend on whether Mercedes improves its internal combustion engine. If Mercedes does not make a step there, Red Bull risks being trapped again as the best ICE package, extending the same restriction into the next phase of the season.