– Red Bull continues to have the most powerful engine among Formula 1 manufacturers, this is the result of the second ADUO period, which covers all races from the season opener at the Australian Grand Prix to the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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According to the latest FIA analysis, Mercedes is between two and four percent behind in performance, while Audi, Ferrari and Honda are more than four percent behind. The new powertrain from the Japanese manufacturer, introduced at the Dutch Grand Prix, was not taken into account.
After the first quarter of the season, Mercedes had been granted an additional homologation for 2026 and 2027 respectively, while Audi, Ferrari and Honda each received two for this and next year. This includes a larger budget within the cost cap and further dyno tests. However, no official announcement had been made.
FIA has confidence in the data
While the FIA confirmed the ADUO ranking this time, no additional development tokens were awarded. “The FIA has conducted thorough and comprehensive analyses as part of our ADUO review process,” says Nikolas Tombazis, FIA Director of Single-Seater Sports.
“With the publication of the results from Period 2, we are confident that the analysis based on the quality of the data is extremely robust, which gives us great confidence in our findings.”
“We must also respect the confidentiality and intellectual property of the teams and their engine manufacturers when disseminating details from the results,” he continues. “This is the first year of the ADUO system, so there are naturally areas that we will continue to develop over time in coordination with all PU manufacturers.”
ADUO under criticism
The ADUO system has been criticized, with an obvious disadvantage being that it only considers the internal combustion engine, which is not the only performance differentiation factor in current F1 hybrid power units.
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Mercedes – and not Red Bull-Ford – is widely regarded as the manufacturer with the most powerful engine. Even Silver Arrows team principal Toto Wolff admitted this, although he may have been careless in making the remark, as he was not referring to the ADUO system.
Why ADUO divides the Formula 1 world
Red Bull, in particular, was disappointed by the lack of opportunities in the current ranking and demanded a review of the results after Canada, which remained unsuccessful. “Toto is right. I also think they have the most powerful power unit,” said team principal Laurent Mekies after the race in Belgium.
“And they certainly had a considerable advantage on the straight again this weekend. But this is not the first weekend. They have an advantage on the straight on most weekends – and even more so this weekend due to the track characteristics.”
“The second period ends in a week in Budapest. We will see what happens,” said Mekies.
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As Red Bull continues to lead, it is expected that the ADUO system will be hotly debated next weekend at the Italian Grand Prix in a week.
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