FIA: Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda and Audi are permitted to develop their engines, whilst Red Bull-Ford are not

By the end of August, it is clear to the rule-makers at the International Automobile Federation: Red Bull-Ford has the most powerful internal combustion engine. For this reason, Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda and Audi are permitted to develop their internal combustion engines, whilst Red Bull-Ford is not – all within the framework of the so-called ADUO.

ADUO stands for ‘Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities’. ADUO is designed to ensure that engine manufacturers who are lagging behind are given a chance to catch up during the season. Manufacturers are granted development leeway if they are at least two per cent behind in terms of their internal combustion engine performance.

The FIA has published the results for the second ADUO phase (covering the World Championship races from the season opener in Australia up to and including Hungary before the summer break). It has concluded that, in terms of performance, Mercedes is between 2 and 4 per cent behind the class leader; Ferrari, Audi and Honda are more than 4 per cent behind.

FIA Head of Formula Sport Nikolas Tombazis: “The FIA has carried out a thorough and comprehensive analysis as part of our ADUO review process. With the publication of the second-phase results, we are confident that the analysis is extremely robust due to the quality of the data, which gives us a high degree of confidence in our findings.”

“When sharing details from the results, we must also respect the confidentiality and intellectual property rights of the teams and their power unit manufacturers. As this is the first year of the ADUO programme, there are naturally areas that we can further develop over time in consultation with all power unit manufacturers.”

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Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies has quite rightly pointed out that ADUO only addresses the performance of the internal combustion engine (approx. 530 PS). The contribution of the electric system is disregarded. It is widely accepted within the industry that Mercedes has the most powerful overall package.

The third ADUO phase will cover the races from the Netherlands up to and including Mexico, after which the FIA will reassess the situation.