FIA delays ADUO ruling as Red Bull challenges engine rankings
The FIA's new engine concession system hits its first political crisis: Red Bull is disputing being ranked top for combustion power, and the governing body has blinked.
The FIA has delayed finalising Formula 1's controversial ADUO engine rankings after fierce objections from Red Bull-Ford.
The governing body had privately informed manufacturers in Monaco that Red Bull currently has the strongest combustion engine in Formula 1, making it the benchmark under the new concession system and therefore ineligible for performance upgrades.
Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda and Audi would all qualify for varying levels of development assistance.
The ruling immediately sparked controversy because Mercedes-powered cars have won every race so far in 2026.
Now, according to L'Equipe, the FIA has agreed to review the figures.
"L'Equipe can confirm that the FIA has decided to review its calculations and refine its result 'to be certain of the outcome'," the publication said, citing an FIA spokesperson.
The federation will reportedly re-examine data from the first five races and verify readings from the power sensors fitted to every car.
Verstappen baffled by ranking
Max Verstappen admits Red Bull was stunned by the original findings.
"I think we were all a little surprised by that news," he said in Barcelona. "That's also why we're still in discussions with the FIA. We do this to see how they came to this conclusion."
The Dutchman confirmed the review is now underway.
"Our engine the most powerful combustion engine of all? We're baffled," Verstappen said.
"They're currently reviewing it again. And that's a good thing, because as far as we're concerned, we don't have the impression that we have the most powerful combustion engine."
Teammate Isack Hadjar reacted with similar scepticism.
"I checked to see if we had won the first six races of the season, but no, we haven't," he quipped.
"We'll wait for the final conclusions, so I won't comment further at this time."
While Red Bull is contesting the outcome, Honda appears far more comfortable with its own ADUO assessment. Shintaro Watanabe said in Barcelona: "Our expectations and the FIA's assessment are similar."
"I think Red Bull Powertrains has done a great job, and I respect what they have achieved. The figure we received from the FIA was quite reasonable for us."
The debate has also exposed the political complexity surrounding the ADUO system, which only measures combustion engine output and ignores electrical performance.
Mercedes-powered Williams boss James Vowles said he was not surprised Red Bull topped the combustion rankings.
"In Bahrain, I'm sure I said it publicly," he explained. "In my opinion, Red Bull seemed to have the most powerful engine."
"There are two things. We have the combustion side and the electric side - the ADUO is only used in combustion. And Mercedes did a great job on the electric side, as we have more deployment than the rest."
Alex Albon agrees the situation has become difficult to interpret.
"It's funny, but I don't think any team or engine manufacturer actually wants to be considered the best," said the Williams driver. "This leads to some rather strange political games and contradictory statements."
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton confirmed that even if Ferrari receives upgrade concessions, any gains will not arrive quickly.
"We can't bring an upgrade next week," the seven-time world champion told Sky Italia.
"It takes months and months of development to change the engine components and demonstrate that they still maintain reliability."
Ferrari's upgrade plans
However, Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport reports Ferrari is already planning to race two upgrade steps, beginning in Austria and continuing at Monza, with the goal of recovering around 30 horsepower.
ADUO system at a glance
| Full name | Asymmetric Development Unlimited Opportunity |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2026 F1 season |
| Purpose | Engine development concessions |
| 2026 benchmark | Red Bull-Ford (combustion) |
| Upgrade eligible | Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, Audi |
See also: 2026 F1 season on F1-Fansite.
Related: Red Bull furious as FIA names them F1 engine benchmark
2 F1 Fan comments on “FIA delays ADUO ruling as Red Bull challenges engine rankings”
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ADUO more like adios amigo to the Muppet that designed these parameters, and the silly teams that agreed to them
Its again all on the Fia more embarrassment
I'm surprised Red Bull got caught out here. It sounds like the kind of engineering problem competitive F1 teams relish - to come up with a powerful engine, but ensure it performs poorly enough when measured that you get a leg up.