The FIA has revealed the results of the first and second review periods of its scheme to aid Formula 1 manufacturers to navigate its complex new technical regulations.
The Additional Development and Upgrades [ADUO] mechanism is a fundamental aspect of this year’s brand-new ruleset, led by the near 50/50 split between combustion and electric power.
ADUO is given to OEMs that qualify within the threshold set, offering said assistance to ensure an increased equality across the grid, and to avoid seismic gaps, as previously seen in the first year of the first V6 hybrid era in 2014.
Earlier in the summer, the first revelation of which of these OEMs qualified raised some eyebrows, with Mercedes, noted for the fastest overall power unit, making the cut.
Red Bull, which is yet to win a Grand Prix with its maiden in-house engine, built with Ford, surprisingly failed, with Ferrari joining the German marque, predictably joined by returning strugglers Honda and new outfit Audi.
The four OEMs were, as a result, enabled further dyno testing time, as well as cost cap allowances.
On Wednesday, the sport’s governing body officially released the first set of results, which it explained thus:
- Mercedes were determined to be in the 2-4% window, and will thus be allowed one additional homologation in 2026 and one in 2027, together with corresponding cost cap and dyno testing increases.
- Audi, Ferrari and Honda were determined to be above 4%, and will thus be allowed 2 additional homologations in 2026 and 2 in 2027, together with corresponding cost cap and dyno testing increases.
The statement concluded:
“For the second period, no additional homologations were granted to any of the Power Unit Manufacturers.
“Due to the confidential nature of this information, no further details on Power Unit performance index measurements will be communicated.”
FIA ‘confident of robust analysis’
The FIA’s Single-Seater Director, Nikolas Tombazis, said: “The FIA has undertaken thorough and exhaustive analysis as part of our ADUO review process. With the release of the findings of period 2, we are confident that, based on the quality of the data, its analysis is incredibly robust, giving us a high level of confidence in our findings.
“We also have to respect the confidentiality and intellectual property of the teams and their Power Unit Manufacturers in disseminating any details from the findings.
“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.”
The FIA confirmed that the third review period began from last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, to the next seven rounds, concluding with the Mexico City Grand Prix.
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