FIA Opens Review of ADUO Engine Rankings After Red Bull Questions Benchmark Status
The FIA is holding discussions with all five 2026 power unit manufacturers after its first Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities assessment ranked Red Bull Powertrains' DM01 as the benchmark internal combustion engine, denying Red Bull any upgrade opportunities while granting one to Mercedes and two each to Ferrari, Audi and Honda. Red Bull has sought clarification on the methodology ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
What the FIA's ADUO verdict means for the Austrian Grand Prix weekend
The FIA is holding active discussions with Formula 1's five power unit manufacturers over the findings of its first Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities assessment, after the governing body's document ranked Red Bull Powertrains ahead of Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi and Honda on internal combustion engine performance. [1] Red Bull has raised questions about the methodology, and the FIA has pledged to review its results ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. [2]
How ADUO works and what the rankings mean
The ADUO mechanism was introduced alongside the 2026 regulations as a competitive-balancing tool. [5] Under its terms, manufacturers whose internal combustion engine is judged more than two per cent behind the benchmark receive one upgrade homologation for 2026 and one for 2027, while those more than four per cent adrift receive two upgrades in each of those seasons. [5] Crucially, the assessment covers only the ICE component of the power unit, not the electrical systems or energy recovery hardware, which account for close to half of total power output. [1]
The FIA notified all five manufacturers of its first-period findings on Monaco Grand Prix race day, covering engine performance data gathered between the Australian and Canadian Grands Prix. [2] The document, seen by Sky Sports News, stated that every manufacturer except Red Bull would be eligible to make engine upgrades this season. [1] Mercedes was assessed as more than two per cent behind Red Bull and will receive one upgrade; Ferrari, Audi and Honda were each assessed as more than four per cent adrift and will receive two upgrades. [1] As the benchmark manufacturer, Red Bull Powertrains receives no upgrade opportunities under the current assessment. [5]
Red Bull's position and the FIA's response
The verdict surprised Red Bull, whose team principal Laurent Mekies had previously characterised Mercedes as clearly the strongest engine on track. [2] Red Bull sporting executive Oliver Mintzlaff and Mekies held a private meeting with FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem to register their surprise and seek clarification on how the ranking was determined. [3] The FIA subsequently agreed to provide all five manufacturers with a detailed breakdown of its measurement criteria, and has also agreed to review the measurement system it has employed since the Australian Grand Prix. [3]
Mekies confirmed that Red Bull has engaged in detailed dialogue with the governing body to verify the accuracy of the analysis, and noted that the stakes extend beyond the current season given that ADUO concessions also feed into 2027 development allowances. [4] Sources cited by ESPN consider it unlikely the rankings will change, given the thoroughness of the FIA's process. [3]
The measurement methodology
The FIA has deliberately withheld the precise metrics of its ICE Performance Index from manufacturers and the public, concerned that publishing clear measurement criteria could allow power unit makers to engineer results in their favour. [5] The index incorporates factors including input shaft torque, engine speed, MGU-K power and a weighting that accounts for power sensitivity on lap time across measured laps. [1] Audi F1 team principal Mattia Binotto confirmed that the ADUO evaluation comes down to "pure engine power" on the combustion side rather than the full power unit. [7]
Two further ADUO assessment windows remain in 2026: one running to the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of July and a second ending at the Mexico City Grand Prix in November, with both feeding into 2027 development planning. [2]
:::analysis The findings place Red Bull in an awkward position. Building an all-new power unit from the ground up in a technical partnership with Ford and achieving benchmark status in the first season is a substantial engineering achievement. Yet the designation also locks the team out of the upgrade framework its rivals can now access, at a point when Red Bull sits fourth in the constructors' championship. The ADUO system measures only the ICE, while the regulations permit qualifying manufacturers to upgrade the entire power unit, including energy recovery systems where several rivals have appeared stronger on track. That asymmetry between the assessment scope and the upgrade scope is the core of Red Bull's concern, and it is a legitimate structural question regardless of how the FIA's review concludes. Whether the governing body's methodology stands up to scrutiny will have lasting implications not just for 2026 but for the credibility of ADUO across the remainder of the current regulatory cycle. :::
Related reading
- [1]ADUO in F1: FIA reviewing engine findings as 'surprised' Red Bull question results ahead of Austrian Grand Prix (skysports). Accessed 2026-06-17.
- [2]Red Bull queries ADUO ranking as FIA pledges to review results (the-race). Accessed 2026-06-17.
- [3]FIA to give teams explanation on ADUO rankings, Red Bull seeking clarification - sources (espn). Accessed 2026-06-17.
- [4]F1 ADUO findings: Red Bull challenges FIA after surprise Mercedes ruling (planetf1). Accessed 2026-06-17.
- [5]ADUO F1 engine upgrades decision revealed (the-race). Accessed 2026-06-17.
- [6]Shock as Red Bull F1 2026 engine named FIA benchmark in ADUO rankings (planetf1). Accessed 2026-06-17.
- [7]Red Bull ADUO benchmark: Audi reveals 'pure engine power' explanation (planetf1). Accessed 2026-06-17.