FIA confirms ADUO recipients, with Red Bull-Ford as benchmark

The FIA, Formula 1’s governing body, announced on Wednesday the results of the Period 2 reporting for Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities [ADUO], keeping Red Bull-Ford Powertrains as the benchmark for the F1 grid.

Under F1 regulations, measurements were taken from each power unit’s internal combustion element [ICE], under which the Red Bull-Ford Powertrains remained as the benchmark for the F1 grid, an unchanged result from the first period of the season. In comparison to Red Bull-Ford, Mercedes, Audi, Ferrari, and Honda — the other four power unit manufacturers on the F1 grid — will all get a chance to upgrade their power units.

According to the FIA, the Mercedes power unit (which is used by Mercedes, Alpine, McLaren, and Williams) was 2% to 4% down on Red Bull’s ICE. Ferrari’s power unit (which is used by Ferrari, Haas, and Cadillac) was more than 4% off Red Bull, as was the Honda power unit (used by Aston Martin) and the Audi power unit:

Under the F1 technical regulations, if a manufacturer’s power unit is at least 2% off the benchmark, that team will be eligible for one additional upgrade in the current season, and an additional upgrade the following campaign.

Teams that are more than 4% behind the leading power unit will receive two additional upgrades in the current season, and two more the next year.

It is important to note that the ADUO only examines the ICE, which under the current regulations provides approximately 53% of the power to the hybrid engines. The MGU-K battery component delivers the other 47% of the power.

Going forward, however, the ICE will deliver an increasing percentage of power to F1 power units. F1 announced back in June that next season there will be a 58/42 split between the ICE and battery power, with the ICE percentage increasing to 60% for the 2028 season.

As for what this means for the 2026 campaign, it means that while nine of the teams on the grid will get another chance to update their ICE the other two — Red Bull and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls — will have to stand still when it comes to their ICE units.

The other nine teams can implement power unit upgrades to ICE elements as early as next week’s Italian Grand Prix. That includes upgrades to the ICE, the engine exhaust system, ICE- or exhaust-mounted electrical components and sensors, control electronics, and more.

Any upgrade not issued in a specific season will be forfeited, so expect teams to start rolling out upgrades sooner rather than later.