Red Bull has made several playful posts on social media after the FIA’s recent ADUO decision that it has the strongest engine on the current F1 grid.
The FIA have found Red Bull Powertrains to still have the most powerful Internal Combustion Engine ICE) in 2026 after its most recent Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities assessment.
ADUO is intended to encourage close competition on track by allowing teams with an engine deficit to have additional upgrades. As per the FIA’s calculations, Red Bull have the benchmark engine. Therefore, the team are not able to bring any additional upgrades to its power unit.
However the team has openly questioned the ADUO findings, despite reassurance from the FIA that the calculations are accurate. Last weekend in Monza, Max Verstappen said that Red Bull “don’t see the name numbers”.
Posting on X, the team made a playful reference to the ADUO situation.
“Things we make:
• Energy drinks
• Sugar-free energy drinks
• Tropical energy drinks
• The benchmark Formula One engine
“One of these wasn’t in the original business plan.”
Red Bull and ICE, what (a)duo🪽 pic.twitter.com/FuCdCgmQE9
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) September 7, 2026
Then, the light-hearted joke was followed with a post advertising the energy drink, saying “Red Bull and ICE, what (a)duo.”
After that, on Instagram, they doubled-down on the joke, posting “Red Bull, best with ICE,” with the caption “Energy drink company. Engine benchmark. In that order”.
What is the current ADUO ranking?
As found in the first monitoring period, the assessment ruled that Red Bull Powertrains have the benchmark Internal Combustion Engine.
Mercedes are allowed one extra upgrade, being 2-4 per cent behind Red Bull.
Furthermore, Audi, Ferrari, and Honda are allowed two extra upgrades as the FIA found them to be more than 4 per cent away from Red Bull’s ICE power.
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