Daily News 19

Tag: ADUO

  • Ferrari Still “Missing Pure Power” Despite ADUO 2 Upgrade

    Ferrari Still “Missing Pure Power” Despite ADUO 2 Upgrade

    Ferrari Concedes 2026 Engine Power Deficit to Mercedes After Monza Struggles

    Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Fred Vasseur has acknowledged that the Scuderia was never realistically positioned to match Mercedes on engine power for the 2026 season. The admission comes after a difficult Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza, where the team’s power unit deficit was laid bare on the calendar’s most power-sensitive circuit.

    ADUO System Fails to Close Gap

    Since F1 introduced new technical regulations this year, Mercedes has fielded the most puissant power unit. The Additional Development and Upgrades Opportunities system (ADUO) was designed to help manufacturers lagging in performance catch up. Assessments based on the internal combustion engine actually identified Red Bull as having the most powerful unit. Consequently, Mercedes received one upgrade token for 2026 and 2027, while Ferrari, Audi, and Honda were each granted two.

    Despite this advantage, Ferrari’s ADUO upgrades — debuting in Austria and at Monza — have not bridged the gap. Mercedes has yet to introduce its sole update for the year, expected in October. At Monza, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth and fifth respectively. Leclerc crashed out after contact with his teammate at the start. In qualifying trim, the Ferrari power unit was 5.6 km/h slower on top speed compared to the benchmark, a figure mirrored by Oliver Bearman in the Haas.

    “At least I was right on something,”

    Vasseur quipped after the race, referencing his prior insistence that the ADUO upgrade would not be a game-changer. When asked if the upgrade met expectations and whether energy deployment contributed to the deficit, Vasseur was candid.

    “I don’t want to give details, but when you have a lack of pure power, then you start to play with deployment to try to compensate in one straight line. But if you deploy more somewhere, for sure you will deploy less somewhere else and then you are going in the wrong spiral to try to play with this when you are fighting.

    Honestly, it’s not about deployment. I think deployment was okay-ish, that even McLaren, they were playing a little bit Friday and Saturday morning. At the end, we are missing pure power.”

    Quantifying the Power Deficit

    Vasseur used a theoretical framework to explain how the deficit scales across different circuit layouts.

    “The reality of this is that if you are missing X in Zandvoort, you are two or three tenths [down]. If you are missing X minus – I’m using letters because you will try to extrapolate – if you are missing a bit less than X in Monza, the delta with the Merc is two times bigger.”

    Cost Cap and Lead Times Constrain Development

    Pressed on whether specific design choices caused the power shortfall, Vasseur highlighted the structural challenges of power unit development under the current cost cap.

    “On the engine, the process is mega long because the lead time of the parts is long and the cost cap is not easy. You have to produce the engine for the season. You are already a bit like this and if you want to start to do the development, you have to produce a new batch of engines, and it’s tricky.

    We were not expecting to recover [with] ADUO 1 or ADUO 2. We are doing small steps, but what you have to keep in mind is that if you make a small step on the engine, even if you make a couple of horsepower, it’s a good step on the grid.”

    The competitiveness of the midfield underscores this point. In Monza qualifying, just 0.127 seconds separated third-placed Oscar Piastri from seventh-placed Kimi Antonelli.

    Focus Shifts to 2025 Power Unit

    “That means that now we will have a new engine next year. For sure, the target is to catch up, to catch up as soon as possible, but I was not expecting that in two months we will recover the delta with Mercedes.”

    Championship Standings Widen

    The Monza result compounded Ferrari’s championship woes. The Scuderia’s deficit to Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship has ballooned from 87 to 122 points. In the Drivers’ standings, Hamilton now trails by 76 points after finishing only sixth at his future team’s home race.

  • Red Bull Seeks F1 Development Lifeline as FIA’s New ADUO Decision Looms

    Red Bull Seeks F1 Development Lifeline as FIA’s New ADUO Decision Looms

    FIA ADUO Engine Rankings: Red Bull Tops First Period, Awaits Second Assessment

    Although the second ADUO period—Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities in Formula 1—concluded after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the official results of the first assessment period remain unpublished. During the Monaco race weekend, however, all manufacturers were privately informed of the outcome, which placed Red Bull-Ford Powertrains surprisingly at the top of the rankings.

    First Period Results Favor Rivals

    Despite Red Bull’s dominant start to the season, the FIA allocated development tokens to its competitors: Mercedes High Performance Powertrains received one token, while Ferrari, Audi, and Honda were each granted two upgrade opportunities. The governing body had prepared a public announcement at that time but withheld it following considerable behind-the-scenes dissatisfaction from Red Bull, with CEO Oliver Mintzlaff directly involved.

    The Milton Keynes-based manufacturer had limited avenues to challenge the result. The current system measures only the internal combustion engine (ICE), yet the upgrade opportunities apply to the electrical side of the power unit as well—a structural weakness that cannot be addressed in the short term. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis explained to media including Motorsport.com that he was open to incorporating additional parameters such as turbo size, but teams and manufacturers pushed to keep the system simple last year.

    Consequently, Red Bull could only request a factual review. Team principal Laurent Mekies stated that, in his view, there was “not a single data point” suggesting that Red Bull-Ford Powertrains has the best engine on the grid. That factual check does not appear to have altered the outcome. When asked by Motorsport.com, Tombazis affirmed the accuracy of the FIA’s measurements.

    “I think our measurement, in my opinion, has proven to be very accurate,” he said. “With that said, has everything worked fine? No, because obviously people are not happy and so on. Do we need to think about improvements in the future? Yes, I would say so.”

    The prevailing paddock sentiment is that manufacturers such as Mercedes and Ferrari strategically managed their performance during the opening race weekends—avoiding showing their full hand—to secure ADUO tokens. Ferrari, in particular, managed to obtain two tokens through this approach.

    Second Period Offers Red Bull a Potential Lifeline

    Red Bull’s hopes now rest on the second assessment period, which covers races up to and including the Hungarian Grand Prix. According to the prescribed timeframe, the FIA should inform all manufacturers of the results ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with an announcement expected this week or early next week.

    For Red Bull to receive a token, its internal combustion engine must no longer rank as the best in this second assessment. However, this outcome depends partly on rival manufacturers, who can effectively play a strategic game. If competitors refrain from using their tokens on the ICE and continue to withhold maximum performance at certain events, they could keep Red Bull at the top of the ranking for longer.

    Tombazis, speaking before the summer break, expressed skepticism about such a scenario unfolding.

    “Well, I don’t think it would be convenient for you to always be below [your maximum power] just to keep getting more opportunities, because what’s the point of opportunities if it isn’t ultimately for you to be on top?”

    To qualify for a token, Red Bull’s deficit to the best ICE on the grid during the second ADUO period must exceed 2%. If Red Bull remains top-ranked or its deficit is assessed at less than 2%, it will again receive no upgrade opportunity. In that scenario, the team’s only remaining chance to modify its power unit this season would come in the third period, which concludes after the Mexico City Grand Prix.

    Mekies and his team are hopeful of securing an opportunity before then. If successful, every manufacturer will have received at least one token in the first season under the all-new regulations, with clarity expected before media day in Monza.