FIA Reviews ADUO Engine Rankings as Red Bull Questions
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- FIA are reviewing engine performance findings under the ADUO system and holding discussions with all teams ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, having ranked Red Bull's power unit as the benchmark.
- Red Bull, ranked as having the best engine, will receive no upgrade this season, while Mercedes (deemed more than 2% behind) get one upgrade and Ferrari, Audi and Honda (more than 4% behind) each get two.
- Max Verstappen said he was "surprised" by the ranking given Mercedes' race dominance, and team principal Laurent Mekies said Red Bull see "not one single data sample" indicating an advantage over Mercedes, adding they have "opened a very good dialogue" with the FIA.
- Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called the upgrade opportunity "helpful" and backed the FIA's torque-sensor data, warning F1 must avoid a repeat of 2014-era engine dominance while insisting ADUO is "not" a Balance of Performance mechanism.
- ADUO measures only the internal combustion engine — roughly half the power unit's output — and two further reviews after the Hungarian and Mexico City GPs will shape 2027 upgrade allocations.
- Sky Sports F1 pundits Martin Brundle and Jacques Villeneuve questioned the system, with Villeneuve arguing it amounts to "Red Bull gets kind of a downer" rather than genuine help for rivals, and Brundle saying F1 should be "about excellence, not the lowest common denominator."
Why it matters: Red Bull, building their first in-house power unit, are frozen out of upgrades as the benchmark while every rival — including Mercedes, who have won six of seven races — gets to develop. Mekies' public challenge to the FIA's data, combined with skepticism from Brundle and Villeneuve, puts pressure on the governing body to either defend its ICE-only torque-sensor methodology or recalibrate the rankings before the next review after the Hungarian GP shapes 2027 allocations.
