Former Red Bull mechanic and current team ambassador Calum Nicholas has praised Liam Lawson’s “absolutely brilliant” adaptation after the New Zealander stepped into Red Bull’s Formula 1 seat at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Lawson was unexpectedly called up to replace Isack Hadjar, who withdrew from the final F1 event at Zandvoort because of a wrist injury. Despite the short notice, the Racing Bulls driver delivered a strong performance alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
Nicholas praises Lawson’s Red Bull return
“He seems to have just taken everything really calmly under his wing, and he’s had a solid weekend,” Nicholas explained during the Talking Bull podcast.
“For the car that we’ve had underneath us this weekend, he maximised the results that were available with the car he had, and that would be great for him.”
Lawson’s appearance marked his first return to the Red Bull seat since his demotion from the Milton Keynes team in 2025. The 24-year-old replaced Sergio Perez for the 2025 season but was moved back to Racing Bulls after just two races.
“It was really important for him to just have a quiet weekend, but do a really, really good job. And that’s exactly what he did,” Nicholas continued.
“With all the noise about it and obviously what he’d been through before in the car. So to be able to make that hop really quickly at the last minute and do a solid job. Absolutely brilliant for him. I’m really happy for his weekend and for him.”
Laurent Mekies backs Lawson’s performance
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies also acknowledged the difficulty of the task handed to Lawson.
“It’s never easy to step into a different team, a different car for a race like that, and he’s done a good job,” Mekies said. “He was only one tenth away from Max yesterday in qualifying, and today took the points that were available to him pace-wise with seventh place.”
The FIA’s ADUO announcement—covering the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities for Formula 1 power units—had been a long time coming. After the results of the first assessment period were shared with teams and manufacturers at the Monaco Grand Prix, the press release was ready in almost exactly its final form. Only the section covering the second period was missing.
The delay was caused by Red Bull’s significant dissatisfaction with the first-period result, which was reportedly raised behind the scenes with the involvement of Oliver Mintzlaff.
Red Bull had limited options to challenge the outcome. Although the ADUO system has clear weaknesses, the teams and manufacturers agreed to its framework last year. Red Bull Ford Powertrains could request only a factual review, and that did not alter the result. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said the governing body’s measurements were accurate, despite Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies arguing that there was not a single data point showing Red Bull had the best engine.
Red Bull highlighted its deficit at power-sensitive circuits. According to Mekies, that shortfall was greater than at tracks such as Monaco and the Hungaroring, where power units have less influence. However, the performance picture at energy-starved circuits is also affected by energy management and how effectively each power unit handles that challenge.
Those factors are not included in the FIA’s ADUO calculations, which measure only the power output of the internal combustion engine (ICE). The FIA cannot disclose the precise measurement methods and data publicly because they involve intellectual property and confidential information.
“Due to the confidential nature of this information, no further details on power unit performance index measurements will be communicated,” the FIA statement reads.
As a result, the FIA announcement states only that Mercedes falls into the 2%-4% deficit category. That gives the manufacturer one upgrade opportunity in 2026 and another in 2027. Ferrari, Audi and Honda are all classified in the plus-4% deficit category, granting each two new homologations—and therefore two update opportunities—in the current season, followed by two more next year.
The ADUO system was designed to help manufacturers such as Honda that were significantly behind, but it has become a political battleground in Formula 1.
These manufacturers also receive additional financial headroom under the power unit manufacturers’ cost cap. Mercedes High Performance Powertrains can receive an allowance of up to $3 million, while Ferrari can receive up to $4.65 million.
The FIA has also introduced an additional safety net for manufacturers in serious difficulty, such as Honda. A manufacturer more than 10% behind the best ICE would be eligible for a cost-cap allowance of up to $11 million per ADUO period, plus an additional $8 million for 2026 as a whole. However, Honda was understood not to have fully met those criteria after the first assessment period.
The Japanese manufacturer can nevertheless accept the FIA’s analysis.
“I think the number we received from the FIA looks reasonable. I would say that number is fair. And also, thanks to ADUO, we are now working hard to develop our engine,” chief engineer Shintaro Orihara told Motorsport.com.
Red Bull’s opposition to championship standings may have backfired
The second assessment period produced no additional upgrade opportunities, indicating that the performance picture had not changed significantly.
For Red Bull, that could theoretically mean one of two things: either the newcomer remains at the top of the ICE ranking, or its deficit is below 2%. The latter would also produce no upgrade opportunity.
However, Motorsport.com understands that the ranking and the gaps between manufacturers remain broadly unchanged. Red Bull Ford Powertrains is therefore rated by the FIA as having the best internal combustion engine in Formula 1.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has acknowledged that Mercedes has the best overall power unit. However, ADUO assesses only the ICE, exposing one of the system’s central weaknesses: the measurement applies to just one part of the power unit, while the resulting upgrade opportunities extend further and cover electrical components as well.
Mercedes has the best power unit in F1, as Toto Wolff also acknowledged, but it has nevertheless received an upgrade opportunity.
Red Bull remains behind on the electrical side, but its strong ICE ranking prevents it from addressing that weakness under the current rules. The newcomer is therefore effectively checkmated.
That is a weakness in the system, although the FIA cannot be entirely blamed. Tombazis has told the media that he was open to including more parameters, but the teams and manufacturers pushed to keep the process as simple as possible.
One example is turbocharger size, which Tombazis wanted to include in the assessment. That did not happen, allowing Ferrari to benefit from a deliberate design choice. The Italian manufacturer enjoyed an advantage off the line at the start of the season because of its smaller turbo, but sacrificed some power as a result. ADUO now allows Ferrari to address that trade-off, particularly after it received two upgrade opportunities.
That raises questions about whether it is fair to reward or penalize deliberate design decisions, but it is how the current system operates.
The FIA also intended to factor championship standings into the ADUO calculations. The system was not designed to give the dominant manufacturer even more opportunities to develop, but insiders say Red Bull was among those that opposed including the championship position.
That stance was understandable based on the circumstances at the time, but it has proved counterproductive for Red Bull. When the discussions took place last year, the team could reasonably have thought: As a newcomer, we are probably going to be more than 2% behind, but if the chassis is good, we could still be relatively high up in the championship standings. In that case, it would logically be advantageous if the FIA did not take that aspect into account.
The reality has been the opposite. Red Bull’s ICE is highly competitive, but its chassis was below par at the beginning of the season. As a result, the championship standings are unfavorable from Red Bull’s perspective, and including them in the ADUO system could have provided the team with a lifeline.
Red Bull’s chassis has been below par, meaning that, with hindsight, the team would have benefited if championship standings had been included.
FIA acknowledges ADUO weaknesses as Red Bull faces final opportunity
The ADUO results explain why Red Bull is the only manufacturer prohibited from developing its power unit during the season. There is still one opportunity to change that: the third assessment period, which concludes after the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Red Bull does not control its own fate, however. Its position depends on its rivals. If they do not use their upgrade opportunities on the ICE—Mercedes in particular—and do not suddenly extract more performance from it than they have so far, Red Bull will remain unable to develop its power unit.
The ADUO results have therefore revealed more than Red Bull’s position in the rankings. They have also exposed weaknesses in the system, something the FIA readily acknowledges. Motorsport.com asked Tombazis in Hungary whether ADUO was currently working as intended.
“I think our measurement, in my opinion, has proven to be very accurate,” he replied. “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.”
When announcing the results, Tombazis again indicated that the system could be revised in the coming years:
“This is the first year of ADUO so naturally there are areas which we may evolve over time, in discussion with all the PU manufacturers.”
Behind the scenes, that process remains at an early stage and will need to produce more concrete proposals in the coming months.
The current outcome is perhaps the clearest illustration of ADUO’s weaknesses. The manufacturer with the best overall power unit receives development opportunities based on its ICE deficit, while a manufacturer that is weaker on the electrical side cannot address that problem because of its ADUO classification.
That issue will require consideration over the longer term. For now, however, the teams and manufacturers—including Red Bull—must also accept responsibility, having agreed to the system last year.
Isack Hadjar’s decision to withdraw from the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix because of a wrist injury showed confidence rather than weakness, according to former Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas.
Hadjar had made an impressive start to the 2026 Formula 1 season alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull. However, he stood down for the Zandvoort race after sustaining the injury, allowing Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson to take his place at short notice.
Lawson finished seventh in a chaotic race after Verstappen’s Red Bull crashed out on the opening lap.
Hadjar’s Dutch Grand Prix absence praised
Speaking on the latest episode of the Talking Bull podcast, Nicholas praised Hadjar for prioritising his fitness and the remainder of the season.
“To take the week out as a precaution to make sure that he was fit for the rest of the season actually shows the confidence that he’s had all year,” Nicholas explained.
“He’s been doing an incredible job. It’s a real sign of the confidence that he’s got to be able to just say, ‘Look, I’m not 100%. I’m going to take this week out as a precaution.’ And yeah, hopefully we see him back in the car in Monza.”
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing. Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
It has not yet been confirmed whether Hadjar will return to the cockpit for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which takes place from 4 to 6 September. The Red Bull driver was nevertheless present with the team at Zandvoort.
“We also had Isack with us this weekend even though he couldn’t be driving,” team principal Laurent Mekies said. “He was with the team trying to take the learning and trying to make sure we can push all together as strongly as we can next week in Monza.”
In his first season with Red Bull, Hadjar sits eighth in the drivers’ championship with 68 points. Verstappen is sixth with 112 points.
Former Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas believes Max Verstappen would not have challenged for a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix even if he had avoided his opening-lap crash, arguing that Red Bull lacked the pace to compete with the frontrunners.
Verstappen crashes on the opening lap at Zandvoort
The final Formula 1 race at Zandvoort began dramatically. Although the rain had stopped before the start, damp patches remained on the circuit. Verstappen ran onto a wet section while negotiating the final banked corner and suffered a heavy crash into the wall.
The incident ended the home hero’s race, while Red Bull team-mate Liam Lawson went on to finish seventh and score six points for the Milton Keynes-based team. Lawson was standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar.
Speaking on Red Bull’s official Talking Bull podcast, Nicholas said Verstappen would probably have finished in a similar position to Lawson had he completed the race.
“One of the things that we’ve perhaps struggled with a little this year is when we’re in gusty, windy conditions, the car just seems a little bit unhappier,” Nicholas explained.
“It creates a little bit more work for the drivers and we’ve got to work out what it is that’s at the bottom of all that. But I don’t think it’s a disaster.
“Liam probably had a boring, lonely race. Big gap ahead of him, big gap behind him. But that was just the pace of the car. Even if Max had completed this race and not had the incident on lap one, I think that’s pretty much where he would have ended up as well, in that space between the frontrunners and those behind us. I really don’t think that there was a lot more to offer this week.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix, with Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell completing the podium.
Max Verstappen has paid tribute to the Dutch Grand Prix and his home fans after a crash ended his race at Zandvoort, which is set to make its final Formula 1 appearance after the 2026 season.
Formula 1 returned to the Netherlands in 2021, following Verstappen’s rapid rise in the championship and ending the circuit’s 36-year absence from the calendar. Despite the event’s popularity, its privately funded organisers faced long-term financial challenges and decided not to pursue a contract extension beyond 2026.
After the race, the four-time world champion shared a farewell message on Instagram:
“Zandvoort. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve had here. What once seemed impossible became something really special. It means a lot that I got to be part of it. I’ll always remember this. Thank you,”
Verstappen entered his final Dutch Grand Prix after signing a contract extension that will keep him with Red Bull until the end of 2030. He scored three points by finishing sixth in the sprint, but failed to score in the main race after crashing on the opening lap.
Verstappen crashes on wet Zandvoort track
Some parts of the track remained wet after rainfall earlier in the day. Verstappen, who started seventh on the grid, ran onto a damp patch while navigating the banked final corner and was sent into the barriers.
The Red Bull driver accepted responsibility for the incident after the race.
“In the last corner, it was obviously still a bit wet. But in the end, I thought, ‘OK, now there’s a bit of a dry line.’ And then, of course, I accelerated, but still had no grip. And that was quite a heavy impact, but everything is OK,”
He told Sky Sports Germany:
“It’s obviously a pity, but generally speaking, I’m just a bit disappointed because we were simply too slow the entire weekend.”
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.
