George Russell told the media he’s waiting for the ADUO upgrade to change his engine and then take the penalty that comes with exceeding his F1 engine allowance.
Under the 2026 regulations, drivers are allowed only four Internal combustion engine [ICE] components, and any engines that exceed that incur a 10-place grid penalty. Drivers can change from one power unit to another within their pool of parts as long as they don’t exceed the maximum of four.
Mercedes reached their four in Monza, with Kimi Antonelli opting to take the penalty in his home race. Partly because engine power matters and overtaking is possible.
It played to the young Italian’s advantage, who climbed from the back of the field into the lead, with good luck from red flags that helped his progress.
In Media Day at Madrid, George Russell was asked whether he could have taken his engine penalty there too. Or if that was never part of the discussion. Russell told the media, including Motorsport Week, that he’s waiting to take his fifth engine.
“We’re waiting to take my penalty with the ADUO upgrade; otherwise, if I took it there [without it], I’d have to take it again, so it made zero sense for me.”
What is ADUO?
ADUO is the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities, a programme set up by the FIA for the new regulations that monitors each team’s ICE performance and measures how far behind the leaders each team is. If a team is 2% or 4% behind the leaders, it gets an extra engine upgrade for the season; if it is more than 4% behind, it gets two.
This is measured multiple times throughout the season, and teams get chances throughout the year to bring these ADUO upgrades.
Despite Mercedes leading the field, Red Bull was deemed to have the benchmark engine, with Mercedes falling within the 2-4% videos and subsequently being granted an upgrade.
Russell’s confession shows that the upgrade is due soon, and Mercedes are strategically waiting to bring the penalty and the new engine.
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